In and Out of Reach
by KittyMayhem
Summary: Sometimes staying close to what you love requires a knowing more than you're willing to give. Fred becomes enlightened about Shaggy's years without the gang and an old flame shows up to disrupt things. Fred/Shaggy. Sequel to "So Close, So Far".
1. Getting to know you again

Hiya Folks!

I own NOTHING. I lay CLAIM to NOTHING.

Due to the untimely damage of my data on my flashdrive...I currently have nothing to do. No projects to work on, no drawings to color...and nothing more than free time.

Soooo....this sparked me to create a sequel to "So Close, So Far". You can read that on its own, or this one, but the kinda go hand in hand. "So Close, So Far" is how they wound up getting together, and this little story here...further explores their new relationship.

Oh, I do mean to tell you, if you haven't quite gotten it yet, that this is a Slash story between the rare coupling of Shaggy/Fred.

Sooo....if ya wanna read it, by all means go ahead! I'm not stopping you!

But, please do me a biiiiig BIG favor.

No comments if you don't like it. Please?? I beg you...

Other than that, we're good. ^-^

Enjoy!

(Oh...there will be references to several Scooby-Doo movies and made up linkage and time ranges since the movies are vastly out of sync with one another. Characters from those movies will be taken and put into this story, modified, and used accordingly. At the moment the only movie we're dealing with is _**Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School**_ and the appearance of **Sibella**, **Winny**, and **Elsa**. References to _**Scooby Doo and Zombie Island**_ and _**Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf**_ are made as well. None of them belong to me...and if you remember a character named Googie, well...it's not gonna be pretty I assure you.)

:)

* * *

** What I didn't know about you:**

Whether they wanted to believe it or not, there were a lot of things that they didn't know about their resident hippie, Norville Rodgers, a.k.a. Shaggy. In all their time together, and in all their time apart, the only one who actually knew Shaggy was Scooby, and the Great Dane wasn't talking much about Shaggy. Shaggy was simply his best friend, his camaraderie, the one who would pig out with him in food and Scooby snacks alike. He was the one who fell asleep on him in the back of the Mystery Machine, and he was the one who was the first to run away with him when things were getting to creepy. That was how they all knew Shaggy.

But…things were a bit different now.

Fred turned his head to bury his nose in the soft brunette locks that had yet to be cut in the coming weeks. The bowl cut chestnut that had defined their hippie for so long was longer, softer, and somewhat manageable without being touched. Every now and again there was a clip in it somewhere. Shaggy's excuse was always because Daphne left them lying around and they were quick and efficient when he was in a hurry. There was nothing in it now, save the stray fingers from Fred's hands brushing the soft locks out of sleeping eyes. Shaggy mumbled something in his sleep and turned deeper into Fred's shoulder. Fred smiled a bit to himself, used to the sleepy babble before and after things had changed. He'd come to expect it, and he'd gotten so used to it that not hearing it made him a little anxious. It was an excuse to be near Shaggy, not that he really needed one now.

It had been three blissful months of getting to know one another better in all forms. Ever since they'd confessed to one another about their feelings during a trip to one of Daphne's many relatives, they'd been nearly inseparable. Work was the only thing that kept them apart, for unlike their years as teens with nothing else to do, now there were bills to pay and not many conspiracies to live off of.

Fred, being the journalist that he was when he wasn't chasing down some freak in a costume with a vendetta, was often sitting at home typing away the day. He usually was alone with his thoughts and his ramblings to himself, often forgetting to find food in the middle of his thought/type/run process. It was exhausting and left him little sleep, clinging to the lifeline that was caffeine into the wee hours of the night, only to get up again bright and early and shuffle through the stacks of paper just to get back to his computer. It was a tiresome cycle that was once only broken by his friends stopping by to yank him into the depths of some freaky mishap. Now…now that whole cycle seemed like a dream he'd woken up from, landing in a paradise of milk and honey in the shape of Shaggy nestled comfortably against him.

After getting back from their trip, Shaggy had gone back to his house and Fred had gone back to his. Well, not without kissing him into a babbling mess, but he had every right considering that Shaggy was his now. Fred had stepped into his house, spied the mess that he'd left…and promptly set about cleaning it all up. He didn't shove a stack of papers over just to restack them, or rinse out the coffee pot just to refill it. He didn't shove the broom to the side against a pile of dirt, or hesitate to take out the trash that was piling up. He rolled up his sleeves, tossed a bandana on his head, and scrubbed his house from top to bottom within a period of five hours. Once he'd gotten to the point of doing his actual laundry, he realized that he was hungry and that there wasn't a proper stitch of food in his house.

Fred had gathered up himself, the van, and what money he had lying around (a lot surprisingly) and went food shopping. He stacked the fridge, stacked the cabinets, and the pantry, and when he'd finished stuffing the freezer, he found that he was actually tired at a normal hour. He'd gone to sleep on clean sheets, and woke up the next morning feeling like a new man. He had every reason to, for when he'd gotten out of the bed and tended to business, his doorbell rang. Fred had wondered who it could have been so early, but the enticing smell at the door told on itself and on the one who was calling. Shaggy was on the other side of it, breakfast in one hand, and a half eaten doughnut in the other, a sugared smile on his face, and his honest attempt to be normal about this. If they were to really think about it, they had jumped the gun big time…but in a way, it was a long time coming. So Fred, being who he was, smiled like an idiot and kissed those sugared lips good morning.

Things from there had been pretty normal, although there were some significant changes. For one, Shaggy tended to come over when Fred hadn't surfaced for two days, bringing him food and fresh coffee and a change of clothes for himself. It was the only way Fred would find some sleep, and a perfect excuse to bury himself in clean sheets with the scent of Gain and Shaggy lingering on them. Shaggy didn't have to do much to drag him into the bed either. All he had to do was kiss the top of his messy blonde head and urge him up the moment he was yawning. Fred was usually asleep when his head hit the back of Shaggy's back in the bed, knocked out and not letting his hippie go. The next morning was always brighter, and despite the two day growth of beard, the aftertaste of coffee on his breath, and feeling stiff from sitting in one position for so long, he got a passionate wake up kiss and the promise of a good breakfast if he moved fast enough for the shower.

It was their routine, and it didn't always pan out that way. Sometimes the odd jobs Shaggy worked kept him from staying over, but he'd always find time to stop by somehow. Sometimes Scooby would come over with little notes Shaggy had written, or he'd get a phone call with a small "Hey" on the other end of it. But they made it work, and soon Fred was getting his assignments done quicker just so he could turn the tables on Shaggy. The one time he actually managed to catch Shaggy unawares at his house, Shaggy was knee deep in washing Scooby and drenched from head to toe. Thankfully he'd brought money over instead of food, so getting a little wet wasn't the end of the world. They'd washed Scooby, ordered in, and sat on the couch watching television and kissing in the middle of boring monologues.

Before they knew it, summer had passed them by and autumn had settled into Coolsville. While it felt like nothing had really changed between them, Fred knew that it had…and it was still changing. How, he really wasn't sure, but he found it was probably because of the phone call Shaggy had gotten an hour ago.

Who in the hell was Sibella…and why was she coming here?!

Thinking about it brought about questions he hadn't thought of before, like what had Shaggy done in his four year absence from Coolsville? Why had he left? Where did he go, and why...did he decide to leave Googie? So many questions to answer, but he didn't have the nerve to ask them. Not when they were here on his couch, sitting in the middle of their sleepy bliss with the television blaring softly in the background, Scooby curled up and snoring the evening away by the end of the couch, and Shaggy dozing against him with a belly full of food and warm cider to top it off.

So how was he going to broach the subject of this unknown female without sounding like a jealous lover?

Shaggy's cell phone decided to chirp then with a familiar tune. Shaggy woke and flipped it open, answering it without really thinking about it. Fred kissed the top of his head, trying not to listen but unable to help himself.

"Sibella? Say wha now??....oh…oh, okay. No…sure you can bring the girls with you….uh-huh…no, you can't do that. Why? Because you're going to be around humans who scream…a lot. Yeaaah. No…okay. See ya in few days. Bye!"

"Sibella again?" Fred asked quietly. "Everything okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah…just Sibella wants to visit me with the girls…It's been a little while since I've seen them, but we keep in touch through the internet. Last I heard they were graduating…and those Cadets up the road have finally grown up."

If ever there was an opening, Fred dove through it quickly. "Oh? So…Sibella is….who again?"

"Count Dracula's daughter….believe it or not," Shaggy chuckled. "I didn't believe it at first…until she changed into a bat the first time. I think she's outgrown the purple hair…but she was always a cute kid."

Fred didn't quite believe his ears. "Did you say…Count Dracula? As in THE Count Dracula?"

"One can only assume…but I believe so. Imagine my shock when not even a few months later…he turned me into a werewolf! Sibella was pissed after she found out, and Dracula was embarrassed because he didn't remember just who I was. Like, how red is your face when you turn your daughter's former gym teacher into a werewolf? That was interesting…"

"What? Being a werewolf?"

"No…having fleas. Like, why do you think Scooby gets bathed as often as he does?"

Scooby twitched a little at this, but he went back to sleep as if nothing had been said. Fred was all ears then, staring down at Shaggy looking up at him as if it were perfectly normal to be having such a conversation. Nothing was normal about this conversation, least of all knowing that the daughter of a count DRACULA was coming to visit Shaggy! This should have had Fred leaping up and screaming about whatever came to his head then and there, but all he could do was silently gawk at the young man in his arms, smiling a bit sheepishly as the situation finally dawned on him.

"Like…I've never really told you…what happened in my away time, have I?"

Fred shook his head. "Nope…and I've never asked. Although, now I'm curious," he said quietly. "I mean…I can't say anything after that debacle on Moon Island…who knew Zombies and Cat Gods…and all that. Did you leaving me here provoke you to go out on an adventure or are you just a trouble magnet?"

"The last one…times ten! It seems like every time I got a break, Scooby and I were slipping into something else just as weird as what you, Velma, Daphne, and I do…although there was that whole 13 ghost thing with Daphne for that short time."

Daphne had mentioned something about that, although she wasn't one to talk about horrifying experiences so freely. Everyone had been doing their own thing at that time, so keeping in touch was rare if anything. Daphne had called and mentioned something about freakish ghosts, a weird man and some kid that was just as weird as them, but Fred had been half asleep and a little strung out from lack of sleep. Now he was really curious, and he made it known with a soft nudge of his nose against Shaggy's head for him to continue.

"Like…it was weird man," Shaggy sighed. "It was like I would find myself in these freakish situations…and then all hell would break loose with me and Scoob barely getting out by the skin of our teeth! Let's see…like…I was a gym teacher for a ghoul school…and school for girls who's parents happened to be the monsters we read about and watch in every flipping horror movie..."

"You mean like the Werewolf? Or Frankenstein??" Fred questioned.

Shaggy nodded. "Mmm…Elsa, Frankenstien's daughter, is quite independent. Oh…it was fun for a moment, but after the new enrollment came about, I couldn't take it anymore. Nice girls, but the thought of what their fathers would do to me if their girls were hurt…oh boy! Not pretty!"

Fred certainly didn't think it would be. "But you made it out of that one…"

"Only to be turned into a werewolf a few months later! I had gotten into racing then…nothing serious, but enough to help bring in a paycheck…I won a lot…I sent you pictures."

"I still have them…and you still owe me a race."

Shaggy smiled goofily up at him and kissed the underside of his chin. "Like…later. Okay? Anyway...I…oh. Um…can we talk about that a little later?" Shaggy asked, a little quieter and somewhat more subdued than he had been. It raised alarms, and brought to mind the blonde that had started all of this. During that time he was away, she was in the picture more often than not, dictating what was good and what was bad for Shaggy, believing that she was doing no harm in trying to shield him from his friends. She must have been with him then, and while it brought joy to Fred to know that, it didn't make him any happier to see Shaggy shut down because of his fear of Fred's reaction.

They hadn't really discussed Googie at all…just acknowledged that she was gone, and that was that. Fred's curiosity piqued a bit, killing some of the discomfort of thinking about Shaggy with anyone aside him. He didn't really know her as well as Shaggy, nor did he know the logistics behind their relationship while it was in motion. He did know, however, that she was important to him once, and that he could not fuck this up with his unfounded opinions.

"Shaggy…it's okay," Fred said once a moment had washed over them in silence. Shaggy wasn't so sure about the implications of such a line, burying himself a little deeper into Fred's side and saying nothing in response. Fred held him a little closer, kissed the top of his head again, and rubbed the half naked shoulder peeking out of the oversized-shirt Shaggy wore. "I promise…"

"But…"

"You talked about us when you were with her…right?"

Shaggy squirmed a little, shifting to tuck his bare feet under himself much like he would when he was a kid. Fred hated that vulnerable look on his face. It made him want to jump in the way of anything and everything that was going to harm Shaggy and take it on full force. "Y-yeah…but not that often," he said softly. "She frowned a lot when I told her how much trouble we got into back then."

"…um….we still get into that kind of trouble…and we're GROWN now."

"Like…point taken. But I didn't want to upset her…Like I don't want to upset you…"

"I'm not going to get upset. I'm kind of hard to upset unless I don't know something…"

"…Freddie…"

"I'm not pushing you to tell me…but it would help if I know who's going to be monopolizing you for a while. I mean, I have to have someone to track down…and a cross in case she tries to bite me."

Shaggy finally lightened up enough to laugh. Fred leaned down to kiss his laughing lips, swallowing that small amount of joy and giving it back in spades. He liked it when Shaggy laughed. He liked it better when Shaggy was comfortable, safe, and happy. He kissed the side of his nose next, holding Shaggy firmly to him.

"Sibella doesn't bite…at least not someone I happen to love," Shaggy said, whispering the last part as he slid himself over and seated himself firmly in Fred's lap. Fred's hands drifted down towards the thin waist, marveling at the slender build once again, reminded of earlier moments in the day. Though Shaggy was smiling down at him in that awkward seductive nature that made it hard not to lose his mind, Fred could see the pink cheeks, feel the hitching breaths against his lips and the heated skin burning through the tips of his fingers. While settling into adulthood had brought out their more adult natures…Shaggy was very much like the kid he used to be; naïve to a point, caring, loving…and quite loud when he was enthralled. Even now Fred could see the silhouette of Scooby lifting himself and carrying his long lean body into another room away from what was surely moments away.

Fred slipped his hands into the loose fitting jogging pants, cupping the firm ass in them and pressing their groins together. Yeah, there was still much he didn't know, but those questions and the answers that came with them could wait a bit. For now he was content to kiss those flavorful lips, slipping his way into the warm cavern that was his mouth, and rediscover the hidden flavor of shaggy under the food he inhaled on a constant basis.

* * *

**Two days later:**

The doorbell rang. Fred looked up from the movement of his fingers flying on the keyboard, almost alarmed at the sound of the doorbell. No one ever rang that thing, at least not anyone that he knew personally. Sure he locked the door at night, but who visited anyone then anyhow? He quickly saved his file and closed it down, the music on his computer still playing a bit loud despite his heavy footsteps leaping over the recent pile of papers he'd started this week. He all but leapt out of the door, turning quickly but cautiously down the hall and traveling down the stairs, peering at the door side window and the faces in front of it.

He could hear Scooby, and he could hear the laughter of his lover on the otherside of it. There was also the strange high pitched laughter of another…a girl…and someone's deep rumbling to go with the loud hooting howl he heard next. Fred quickly opened the door…and found himself face to face with the daughters of legends.

"Like…Hi Fred!" Shaggy greeted. "I thought I'd give you a moment to brace yourself."

Fred nodded dumbly, still looking at the three girls standing before his door. "Uh…huh…."

"I told you they were coming…I just didn't say when…because I like…didn't quite know myself!"

"Reah!" Scooby agreed. "Re Ridn't Rnow!"

"Um…are you gonna invite us in, or just…like…stare about five more minutes??"

Fred snapped himself out of it, having gotten enough of a shock to keep his brain alive without the addictive narcotic known as coffee tonight. He smiled as much as he could as someone who was standing in his doorway in nothing more than a low riding pair of lounging pants and an old t-shirt. Thank goodness he'd showered this morning, and shaved…

"Did you eat today?"

Damn. He knew he forgot something. Shaggy simply shook his head, gave him a small kiss on the corner of his mouth and walked straight for the kitchen. "Don't worry…I've got you covered."

"Du…oh. Um, I don't have that much in the kitchen," Fred called after him. "I have to shop tomorrow!"

"I'll make due!" Shaggy called back. "Girls, mind him while I fix him something!"

The girls. Fred had forgotten about them for a moment, but they came back in full view when they entered. Well…when two of them entered. The other remained in the doorway, brow arched and waiting patiently for him to do something. He would have stood there thinking about what if he hadn't remembered that one of them, probably the one in front of him, was a vampire which explained why someone was coming over here close to nine at night.

"Won't you come in?" Fred asked, bowing slightly and giving her a smile of apology. "Sorry…I'm not used to getting too many visitors outside of my social circle."

The girl, who surely had to be seventeen by looks alone, gave him a slightly fanged smile and stepped inside. Definitely Dracula's kid Fred mused. He shut the door behind them and directed everyone into the living room where Scooby was already waiting in his usual spot on the floor. Tail wagging and tongue sticking out, he certainly didn't resist Fred's hands rubbing his head affectionately. One of the other girls got in on the action, and he kindly rubbed her head alongside Scooby.

"So...My name is Fredrick Jones," Fred said. "And as you've guessed…this is my place. What I would like to know…is who is who, and which one of you is going to be kidnapping Shaggy?"

The girls laughed at his frank open ended honestly. Fred wasn't too keen on sharing his lover, though he would for the sake of Shaggy being his own man and needing his own independence. At least, that what he would tell himself later on. The girl he'd figured to be Dracula's daughter came forward and bowed lightly in response.

"That would be me," she giggled. She was a beautiful young girl, hair long and thick silk tumbling in black and purple waves down her slender back. She was dressed in a black t-shirt with the name Edward on it, and had on a flared out pair of dark washed jeans with bat shapes going down either side of her legs. Her violet eyes were most unusual in color, changing every now and again from an amber to a deep color of red that swam with emotion. Right now she was elated, smiling like the teenage girl she was as she leaned forward and giggled again. "I'm Sibella! Nice to make your acquaintance!"

One of the other girls, the one who seemed to like being scratched as much as Scooby did, straightened herself out and stuck out her chest proudly. Not that she should. The girl wasn't lacking in that area. Regardless, her forward nature showed in her face and stance, somewhat muscular but athletic, about medium height with a certain spunk to her step. Her gold eyes shone happily under waves of red unruly locks that were somewhat pulled back. She wore a simple pair of capris and a red shirt with the word "Hoooowl!" on it, her sneakers digging into the floor when she leapt up a bit and introduced herself.

"My name is Winifred!" she exclaimed. "Nice to meet ya!"

The last girl, the one who couldn't be mistaken for anyone else but Frankenstein's kid, smiled goofily at Fred. She was a true patch work mess, but sewn together or not she was pretty. She definitely had her mom's hair, but it was pulled back into a black and white puffed up ponytail. Green eyes closed in pleasure as she was given a kind wave from Fred, the bolts in her neck sparking a bit to show just how welcomed she felt. She wore an oversized yellow t-shirt with a lightning bolt down the center of it, and a pair of patchwork denim jeans over the boots she wore. Now those…were tell tale signs of who her father was. She didn't walk like him, but she sure needed boots like him.

"I'm Elsa Frankentien," She said somewhat shyly. Her voice was deeper, but not unpleasant. "I'm happy to meet you."

"Oooh, we've heard loads about you!" Sibella gushed. "Shaggy goes on and on about you!"

"R-really??" Fred asked. He hadn't known Shaggy talked about him to that extent. "Oh…Well, I've only heard about you two days ago…"

"Well, we can't exactly have everyone of the living know about our existence…or that people like us can reproduce," Winnie chuckled. "The monster world is much different from the human realm…and we kinda like living peacefully."

"Besides," Elsa said, "Not many human boys go for girls like us…just the freaky ones who worship the dark arts. Like we don't have enough of those."

Fred laughed and gestured for them to make themselves comfortable. Sibella and Winnie hopped on the couch, and Elsa took the recliner, plopping down in relief. It was a good thing that the frame was reinforced…and that she wasn't as heavy as her father. Winnie turned in circle once and then sat down, aimlessly scratching at her ear. Sibella tucked her feet underneath her, buried in the corner with her arms cuddling the throw pillow. Fred chose to sit on the coffee table. It was a bit odd, but he could see everyone better this way, including Shaggy running around in his kitchen.

Somehow this should have been strange…uncomfortable even. He should have been freaking out and wondering what the hell is wrong with him to be letting girls with legendary monsters for fathers into his house. Yet, there wasn't a bone within him telling him such a thing. He'd seen so much and dealt with more than his fair share of insanity, not to mention he was sort of into the monster realm and its dealings when they came knocking at his door. These girls were just girls to Shaggy…different girls, but girls nonetheless. Special ones if he allowed them over here of all places. Shaggy was very self conscious about the reactions of the people he interacted with, and he would never bring anyone that his friends wouldn't approve of.

It made the effort to get to know these girls much easier and somewhat painless when they looked him up and down in that knowing fashion. The only thing he could say about females as a gender was their secondary nature to guessing someone's sexuality. Hell, the orange Ascot should have clued them in when he had been wearing it.

"So what brings you to Coolsville?" Fred asked.

"We're passing through," Sibella explained. "We've been invited to a gathering of youth legends…and then there's a big screening for the movie New MOON!"

And that would explain the "Edward" on her shirt. "I see…Twilight fans?"

"No. Rob Fans! He's one of the few vampires in this world that has made it onto the screen without human knowledge! His father and my father are friends, although my father's fame tends to make it hard for them to visit one another…"

"A name like Dracula will catch attention anywhere," Fred chuckled. "Rob is actually a vamp?"

"More like a Daywalker, like myself. Human meets Vampire…Vampire falls for Human…BABY comes…only in my case, Mom bailed. Dad wasn't too upset...he's quite happy now."

"Oh? He found someone new?"

"A hot little vamp about three hundred years his junior…the guy's name is Lastat. That book Ann Rice wrote about him is so wrong. He's much more handsome…and more of a gentleman."

"Not according to what I HEARD LAST NIGHT!" Winnie said slyly. "I didn't know anyone could talk like that outside of a porn!"

"Winnie!"

"What? It's not my fault I have such good hearing…"

Elsa laughed at the two of them. "He was pretty loud…but not as loud as other parents."

Winnie and Sibella froze and shuddered. Fred was curious as to why, until Elsa sat forward and whispered, "My parents need stronger sound proofing." That was a little more than he needed to know about Frankenstein and the image that came to mind had him shuddering as well. The girls laughed again, more than comfortable in his presence.

"So…um, getting away from what comes with that subject," Fred said, "I heard Shaggy was a gym teacher for you guys?"

"Oh…he was so much fun!" Winnie exclaimed. "He was fast too! I had to work to keep up with him sometimes…put this female wolf to shame sometimes."

"He took really good care of us when Miss Grimwood wasn't around," Elsa said. "He always stayed nearby, even though I think we scared him quite a bit at first."

"That would be the understatement of the century," Shaggy said as he came into the living room. In one hand there was a plate with a bunch of sandwiches on it. It wasn't what the girls were used to eating, but it came close enough. He placed that down and watched them devour what they wanted, turning to Fred with his other hand and the heated up deluxe sandwich made especially for him. Fred's stomach growled in appreciation, and his hands were quick to pluck that delicious item off the plate for him to bite into.

"Thank…YOU!" Fred groaned around a mouthful of food. He chewed quickly, swallowing as he kissed Shaggy and licked the bit of mayo from his upper lip. "You have NO idea…how good food tastes right now…to me anyhow…"

"Oooh…He's adorable!" Sibella cooed. "Shaggy, he's everything you said he was…but cuter!"

"I know," Shaggy chuckled. "It's like…it all fell into place. I'm pretty happy…"

"You should be!" Winnie exclaimed. "A nice guy like you is hard to come by. By the way, my pop said that you would have made a hell of a werewolf had you stayed one."

"Yeah well…it wasn't for me. I think I like being human a little too much."

"It's certainly a benefit for me!" Fred laughed. "How long are you girls in town for?"

"Just for tonight," Sibella said. "We travel a lot, and graduation is coming up. We're on a break, and then it's back to our studies and the Calloway Cadets still trying to make an impression. That blonde one though…he's okay. A bit of a masochist to want to date Phanny, but to each his own."

"We figured we would drop by for once," Winnie said as she finished her sandwich. "It's not that often we get to see humans we know and trust. Besides, everyone in the monster realm knows about Mystery Inc. You're practically celebrities, and how you stumble across half of the stuff that is supposed to be hidden is just dumb luck or divine intervention."

Fred and Shaggy looked at one another. "We're calling it dumb luck."

* * *

**Nearly two hours later:**

Fred looked up from his resting place, taking in the quiet ambiance of the room. The noise had died a little while ago, and the girls had left with extracted promises from Fred to keep in touch. Emails had been exchanged, phone numbers as well, and invites on Facebook were made and accepted. The girls had gone to do what girls do best, and Shaggy and Fred were left with warm thoughts and the urge to laugh at the irony of Rob Patterson being an actual honest to god vampire playing what he was.

Shaggy cleaned up the dishes in the kitchen, and Fred went back up to his study. He didn't go back on the computer. Instead he cleaned up the latest pile of paperwork, turned off the computer, and headed for where he knew Shaggy would be waiting for him. Sure enough Shaggy was on his bed, laying out on his back comfortably and smiling stupidly. Scooby was still asleep downstairs, or probably avoiding them and the probable prospect of fornication. Either way, they were alone, and Fred took that precious time to wrap his arms around Shaggy's torso and use him for a human pillow. Those magic fingers in his scalp were mind numbingly blissful. Had he been a cat, he would have been full purr mode.

"I didn't know you saved them from Repulsa…" Fred murmured. "How noble of you…"

"I wasn't keen on dying…or them dying…or being evil. The whole thing was a bit dumb now that I think about it," Shaggy said softly. "Mmm…It was nice to see them…they've grown so much."

"It's been six years?"

"Just about. I met them when they were twelve…I was still on my own then…and I had Scrappy."

"Oh. Oh…Scoob is getting up there in age, isn't he?"

"We all are. I think he's almost ten now…he's definitely feeling the running away now."

"Maybe we should stop getting into trouble…"

"Maybe we should win the lottery. Oh, wait…fat chance."

Fred laughed a bit and looked up into the sparkling green irises half lidded with happiness and sleep. He'd seen that face so many times before. How could he have missed the blatant answer in front of him, or denied it for until that point it had come to three months ago. He wanted to see it every night…as often as possible. He wanted to fill those fingers in his hair when he was stressed, wanted to press himself close to this warm body every night…

He wanted to know more about Shaggy…just so he could fall deeper in that spell.

He wanted…

"Shags…"

"Mmm? Yeah Fred?"

"…would it be…to forward of me…to ask…if you would…consider…moving in with me? I mean…not now no, but…soon? Like…somewhere down the line…if you…want of course…"

There was no answer. Fred kept his head down and pressed into Shaggy's waist, arms locked tightly as if he were holding on to the last piece of happiness he would know. Seconds ticked by and the silence weighed heavily on him, crushing him until those magic hands smoothed back the lengthening locks of blonde on his head, forcing him to look up.

Again, Shaggy managed to shock him. Shaggy didn't cry often, and when he did it was never for anything less than monumental. He gave Fred a shaky nod, wiping his eyes and laughing through his sobs, never resisting Fred as he claimed his mouth to seal that silent but loud promise. He hadn't thought asking him such a thing would get this kind of reaction out of Shaggy, and maybe he should have felt guilty about the small coil of pleasure he felt when he mumbled, "Yes," into his shirt.

Should have…but didn't.

Maybe lying Shaggy down and kissing him senseless should have given him an omen of sorts…maybe peeling off his shirt and kissing those plump nipples into awareness should have given him a premonition. Losing himself in shaggy, he didn't think about what was to come. He thought about now, how much he loved him, and how he never wanted to be away from him for anything less than work. Even that wasn't all that important now.

But how could Fred know that vowing to keep Shaggy as his would bring up the past in a very harsh light?

Downstairs, Scooby propped up his head and stared at the door. He hadn't felt this way…since she left them. He didn't like this feeling, and he growled to will that on coming sense of doom away.

* * *

Yeah...I threw in Lestat...because I could. ^-^ And Edward, a.k.a. Rob Patterson. I still think he's a daywalker...

More soon! :)


	2. Traditional Beginnings of Drama

^-^ There just aren't enough Fred/Shaggy fics out there.

**Slight warnings beforehand:**

There is a lemon in the first half...and for those who don't get it: That means SEX.

Shaggy's family will come into play, as well as Scooby's and Fred's later on.

Googie wasn't a major character except in the movie "Scooby and the Reluctant Werewolf", but she was the one chick who stood out within all of the possible relationships that Shaggy "had". I know Velma was a likely candidate, but come on. Isn't anyone else tired of geek/nerd and jock/beauty queen? Can we shake it up a bit and give us something new? Velma isn't ugly now...she's quite cute if she could stop hiding that body of hers in that oversized orange sweater! The girl has LEGS, and if you saw the dove commerical they had for her, she's got good looks.

But enough ranting. Onward with the story!! ^-^

Oh, and thanks anyone who's managed to find this story. I can't seem to find it where it's supposed to be! :P

* * *

**Part 2:**

_Three weeks later:_

"Freddie..."

"Mmm?"

"….Freddie…aah…"

He moved his lips from the honey-milk skin, licking the corner of his lips as his hand moved a little lower. Shaggy's skin was always so soft. He loved touching it; loved running his hands up and down the smooth contour that hugged tight muscle to the slender frame that fit so perfectly against him. Two very different pieces of a puzzle that fit like they did was something rare, something to be treasured. Fred loved these moments, and he also loved the sounds coming from the picture before him.

Shaggy was face down on the bed, arms and hands grasping the bedding near his disheveled head. His hands were clenching and unclenching, unsure of what to do when ripples of pleasure shot up his back. He owed that shock to Fred's tender touches, caressing him and keeping him dazed and relaxed. His slender hips were in the air, the tender part of him exposed to Fred's sure sight. He trembled when ghost like wisps of air breathed softly against him, anxiety and excitement keeping him on edge, unsure of what or when something was going to happen.

Fred's hands tenderly but firmly took hold of the smooth ass before him, kneading the firm flesh gently and parting his cheeks a little more. "Mmm…you ready?"

Shaggy breathed out a harsh, "Yes!" and Fred smiled behind him, calming him for what was to come.

It had started out kindly enough, just sitting there on the bed doing nothing, saying nothing; just existing in a comfortable silence. Shaggy had been deep into a book he'd been reading in his spare time, and Fred was lying across the bedding, head in Shaggy's lap and nose deep into his phone. He was texting his editor with some revisions, and he didn't feel like getting on the computer to do them. Shaggy was perfectly content to stay the way they were, but Fred…Fred who was famous for blowing him out of the water with insane comments or suggestions, had that look on his face. That look…the one where he had come up with some cockamamie plan or thought that would land them in a heap of trouble. At least, it looked like that look. Getting a closer glimpse of him, Shaggy saw the flame come to life in those blue irises, darkening them a bit…and stirring fires in Shaggy's belly that had nothing to do with the hot sauce he'd inhaled at dinner.

And then he'd asked it…"You wanna try something new?"

Shaggy didn't know what new meant. New could have meant anything and required them to do something insane. Fred's kiss kept him from questioning it too much, and his pouncing made him realize that they were about to do something different right then and there on the bed.

There wasn't much question when it came to their sex life. It was always good, mind blowing even…and blowing was something Fred LOVED to do. Shaggy thought that it was probably the only extreme thing Fred would do, if one were to consider where they lived and how vanilla the town happened to be, but he was very wrong, very unprepared, and amazed and frightened at the amount of knowledge Fred had picked up in their travels.

Which put them to this moment…the moment where Shaggy's insanely sensitive nipples brushed against the bedding, his breathing hitched and wheezed itself into a loud unfocused and moan that was in awe of the wet slick tongue gently circling his entrance and sliding in agonizingly slow. Fred's moan only heightened the sensation, sending Shaggy into a quivering body of flesh unable to pry itself away from the slick sensation of being eaten alive in the most pleasurable of ways. Cock trapped against his belly, hard and dripping from before, it was a bright colorful shock when after what seemed like forever his cock took on a life of its own and erupted onto the sheets below him.

Fred could feel him when he came, and he didn't have to look to know that Shaggy was in slight shock from such a sensation. It wasn't often someone could come like that, and he sought to do it again…only this time with Shaggy on his back. Shaggy went with the flow and howled in mixed pain and pleasure, everything ten times as sensitive from before. Part of Fred's agenda was to make Shaggy a delirious mess every time they were together, getting him to rise quickly and give into the warm orifice doing its best to milk him dry.

Two slick fingers sliding into his warmth, and Shaggy was a goner.

* * *

**Twenty minutes later…**

Fred wiped the sweat from his eyes and forehead, staring down wildly at his shrinking cock and the mess he'd made not a few seconds ago. Thin fingers slid through the mess on that slick stomach, the chest above it heaving with the effort to come back down from that high he'd sent them slamming into. Fred groaned and sat himself back on his knees, shaking but sated and willing to do it again if Shaggy didn't stop being so damn sexy after being so deliriously…fucked.

"Like…I don't know where that came from…but like…damn!" Shaggy half laughed and half breathed. "Oh god…Freddie… that was…"

"Oh Fuck…" Fred breathed. "Okay…I'm so done…stop being so HOT!"

"Oh…you think I'm hot huh?"

Fred nodded, regaining some of his breath as he moved to collapse on the other side of Shaggy. "Very Hot." He didn't know where all that came from either, but damn it all if it wasn't good. He closed his eyes and focused on breathing, instinctively curling his arms around the body that coiled around him. He thought his heart was going to come flying out of his chest any moment, but what a way to die. Shaggy's kiss swollen lips grazed his shoulder, his hands performing their magic as they rubbed him into butter and left him melted into the bed. That sleepy off handed daze took hold of him and he was drifting in and out of awareness for a few moments.

Shaggy's soft hum brought him out of it, vaguely back into awareness long enough to remember how to breathe without losing it again. Shaggy was smiling dreamily into his shoulder, curled up against him and looking perfectly debauched and ravished. His skin was peppered with love marks, his hair disheveled and out of place, and his body boneless against him, a comfortable weight that made sleep easier to reach. Fred was all for it sleeping after that workout.

"We shouldn't….fall asleep like this…" Shaggy murmured.

Fred snorted tiredly. "I'm too tired to drag my ass in the shower…"

"Like…I know what you mean…I don't think I can walk…"

"And I have done my job."

"Freddie!"

"What?? You know I love you…"

Shaggy closed his eyes and smiled to himself. "I love you too…but you're carrying me out of this bed when we get up tomorrow!"

Fred's soft snore was his only answer. Shaggy kissed his cheek and settled down beside him. Trying new things wasn't so bad…

He just wished that this off feeling would go away soon. He hadn't felt it as intensely before they'd had sex, but now that it was over, the faint feeling of something being wrong was gnawing at him relentlessly. It was almost like when they were about to be killed by someone hell bent on making sure they didn't get away with the evidence. He never liked that feeling, and it was always a sign of something coming his way.

He forced himself to focus on the man holding him, laying his head back down and pushing himself to sleep. There was nothing wrong with him and Fred, and he knew that without a doubt. Whatever it was, he knew it was going to affect them…somehow. Maybe it would be different in the morning. Maybe he wouldn't have these thoughts…

Maybe he would learn to listen to himself and just be cautious.

* * *

**Morning:**

Fred opened his phone and smiled at the text sent to him. It was an image of Sibella and Elsa waving as they took a picture with Rob Patterson. A prior text had shown him Winnie with one of the actors who played a werewolf in the movie…and was oddly enough a werewolf in real life. He knew that those CG effects had to be based on some truth.

"Like…did they send you those pics too?" Shaggy asked.

"Sure did…looks like they had a blast," Fred said. "How long has it been?"

"Um…about three weeks. Is this on right??"

"Yeah. You're okay. You ready?"

"As ready as I'm going to be…"

Fred kissed him on the side of his head, giving him some reassurance. Shaggy gave him a shaky smile, but followed Fred anyway out of the house and into the waiting SUV sitting in the driveway. Scooby was already waiting in the car, head sticking out of the window and telling them in no uncertain terms to hurry up. Fred only jingled the keys in his hand and took his time getting into the waiting vehicle.

As summer had faded into autumn and things had been peaceful in their hometown of Coolsville, their lives hadn't stopped and neither had their plans for the year. Time had slipped by them, and while they were up to date with most of their friends and neighbors, they'd almost forgotten about the annual two week stay up in the mountains for a traditional Thanksgiving celebration. Well, Shaggy had. In his absence it had completely slipped his mind. He'd only been back in Coolsville for a little over a year, and the things they did as teens had slipped away with that time. This was the only thing that couldn't be broken, not when Shaggy's family had called him and demanded that he come.

Of course that was an open invitation to all. Daphne and Velma were going, though they would meet them up there in the mountains. The Mystery Machine, the old and the new one would stay in the garage of Shaggy's house, and they were planning to take Fred's often unused SUV. Fred claimed that it was a gas guzzler, but Shaggy knew it was because Fred didn't like to drive as much when he wasn't on a "case".

Shaggy climbed into the passenger side, settling himself down for the long drive ahead of them. He couldn't keep the small smile from forming when he thought about the tail end of this trip when all was said and done. He was all packed and ready to go, relieved to be moving out of the small place he called home and into the larger house that was Fred's. It was getting harder to go back to his place at times and definitely harder to sleep alone. The last time he'd gone back to his pad, it took him two hours and three glasses of warm milk to knock him out. Even Scooby could feel the difference, and he didn't mind moving out of the familiar setting.

"So...you guys ready to mingle with the families?" Fred asked. The car was already in drive and there was no backing out now. "Huh Scooby?"

Scooby rolled his eyes. "Reah Right…"

"Like…I don't think he's looking forward to any and all possible drooling kids," Shaggy chuckled. "Should I be warned about anything??"

Fred thought about it for a moment. "Not that I can think of…I mean, they know we're coming. I'm not sure who'll be there at the cabins this year, but I think Daphne said that your sister would be there."

"Like I haven't seen her in forever…or her hubby. I know mom and pop will be there…"

"My dad will probably be there…It was nice of Daphne to keep lending out the use of her cabins each year for thanksgiving…although, I don't understand why we have to leave two weeks before!"

Shaggy shrugged, put his hand in the one held out to him, and waited good and proper for the SUV to pull out before panicking rightly. "I can't believe we're doing this!"

"Relax shags. Anyone asks, we'll be truthful…and if they don't oh well."

Right…that was easier said than done. They'd been living in their own private bubble for so long, the issue of family never quite came up. Not until a week ago when Fred had gotten the reminder call from Daphne to get his butt in gear and head up to the mountains for thanksgiving. He was lucky his schedule allowed for such luxuries, but the thought of spending another thanksgiving up there reminded him of Shaggy and how he'd been out the picture for four years prior. Reminding Shaggy about it had been an event…

Calming him down…well, that took some time. Shaggy obviously didn't have any preferences to whatever gender would come his way, but his business was his business and no one thought to ask otherwise. Unfortunately that was null and void when it came to Fred, whom he was dating, and who didn't really care what people thought about him. Shaggy wasn't like that and the possible friction of it all had him panicked for quite a while.

Eventually Fred's smooth talking had gotten to him, and not long after that and breathing into a paper bag did Shaggy actually listen to Fred and hear what he'd been saying.

"_Shaggy, we've been best buds since the end of high school…and we've practically moved in with one another already! Who cares? No one. It's just you and me…and you and I have been in the same sentence longer than our love has. We just added another word…and even if something is said, you're still moving in with me…I'm still getting the better part of the deal…and I'd probably die if you abandon me. So…how about a smile?_"

He smiled now, albeit nervously, and squeezed the hand in his a little more to ground himself. He didn't know how he let Fred talk him into this stuff!!

"Hey Shags…"

"Hmm?"

"I know where that energy came from last night…"

Shaggy ducked his head in embarrassment, remembering just what happened last night. That 'trying something new' had been an all out marathon that ended somewhere around 2 in the morning. "Oh?"

"Yeah…I forgot we might be in separate rooms."

Well if that didn't take the cake. "Like didn't we have that problem at a certain wedding?"

"Mmm…but I fixed it. I'll fix it again if I have to."

Fred stopped his SUV at a stop sign and took a moment to let Shaggy halfway for a short bumping of their foreheads. It'd probably be one of the few times they could do that without causing a stir. "Promise?" Shaggy asked, nuzzling him a little more. "You promise to fix it?"

Fred kissed those pouting lips and the side of his nose. "Promise."

Scooby rolled his eyes at them. "Roh Rother…roverirds…ro rhe rend. Sheesh…"

* * *

**Four hours later:**

Fred put the car in park and turned off the engine. The finality if of turning off made Shaggy somewhat sick to his stomach. Fred gently pushed his bangs out of his eyes, silently chanting that it was only two weeks, and that they would make it out of here alive. Shaggy wasn't so sure about the alive part, but he could believe it long enough to make sure he had a fighting chance. Scooby yawned and stretched himself out in the backseat, fully awake but not in a hurry to run outside. He could smell the other Doos that were here…and that meant there was a good chance of a feisty grown pup amongst them. He was getting too old for the hyper active nonsense that came with the search for adventure and fun…and he really didn't feel like chasing anyone today. Or being chased.

"Scoob…are you gonna stay here or what?" Fred asked.

Scooby thought about staying right where he was, but in the end climbed out of the car and really stretched himself out. The satisfying pop of several bones had him relaxed, sitting on the ground, and waiting patiently for the eruption.

It happened the moment Fred shut the car door and hefted their bags onto his shoulders. One door opened…and then another…and then the screaming started with the wails of "Oh my god!!" Fred took it easily enough, but poor Shaggy nearly flipped when he saw not one, but several of his family members run out from the mansion sized Cabin and race right for him.

The first to reach him was his father, a burly man who hadn't lost an ounce of muscle in all his years as a police officer. The man could still run, and he could definitely place someone in a bear hug. Shaggy was up in the air and gasping for air, but torn between laughter and prying himself away so he could breathe again. His father eventually put him down, but then his mother hugged the stuffing out of him and bawled into his shirt.

"My baby!! Oh…Shaggy, I'm so glad you're here!!" she cried. "It's been so long since we've seen you!"

"H-hi mom…Um, Like…I'm sorry about the long absence," Shaggy said, hugging his mother as tightly as she hugged him. For a moment there was nothing more than swaying and rocking, hugging each other as if they'd never see one another again. Then his mother pulled away, looked up at him, and kissed his cheeks, rubbed the lipstick off of them, and kissed him again. "Mooooom~~!"

"What? It's just a bit of lipstick…it'll come right off."

"In like…a few hours…and please don't do that thing with the spit and your thumb…"

His mom grinned and hugged him again. "Ooh…I missed my Shaggy so…"

"Missed you too, mom…"

That burly hand clapping his backside was his father's way of saying the same. He really didn't quite understand the logistics of his family and how his father was so different from the rest of the hippies, but family was family in one form or another. Scooby was the next one to be hugged and kissed and fussed over, much to the dog's mixed chagrin and delight.

Shaggy turned, expecting the hugging to have ended, but his sister was in his face and then around his torso squealing in her excitement. "Shaggy~~!!"

"Like, Hi Maggie! It's been a while hasn't it?"

"Understatement of the century!" She pulled away, looking him over once, twice, and then a third time when she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. "You…look so different. Happier…I think. And I love your hair!"

Shaggy absently ran his fingers through it, smiling sheepishly at her. "Like...Things have been good."

"I can see that. The glow of love is all around you! Who is it?!"

"Um...I-ah...let's go into the cabin, shall we? Like, it's chilly out here!"

She knew when she was being avoided, but Maggie said nothing and dragged him alongside her into the cabin. At least, that's where they were headed until Daphne and Velma came out the cabin waving. Fred walked past Shaggy and Maggie, arms full of bags and Scooby carrying whatever was left in his teeth. He winked as he headed for the cabin, having overheard Maggie's inquiries about his love life and who was in it. Shaggy sighed to himself. This was going to get interesting.

The girls kept waving, and Shaggy waved back…but they put up both hands and waved. That was code for something was amiss. Fred stopped three steps short of the stairs leading up to the door where blessed heat and the smell of hot cocoa was waiting. He could see the strained smile on Daphne's face, and the watered down smile on Velma's. It wasn't a sign of anything GOOD.

"Do I WANT to know?" he asked.

"Um…it's not our fault," Daphne laughed nervously. "Really, it's not."

"Okay….that either means someone else is here…or someone did something bad…which is it?"

"The first one," Velma said weakly. "Um…she surprised us…"

"She?? She who?!"

The girls descended the stairs, avoiding the approaching footsteps headed for the door. It could have been anyone, but there was a good chance that it was the unexpected guest. The rest of their families would come on their own and would arrive days before the big thanksgiving event, and by the looks of it, whoever this person was made it hard on Daphne to say what she wanted to say. Fred looked at her, and then at the open doorway.

He dropped the bags in his hands.

She poked her head outside, looking to the left and the right. Short locks of blonde shook as she shivered, stepping into the brisk air of November out here in the woods. It was hard not to know who she was; her bubbly nature was something no one could forget or not see when she smiled, albeit a bit brokenly when she looked down at the rest of them. She waved a bit, and the girls waved back. Fred frowned. Shaggy felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach alongside with his appetite.

"Googie?!" Shaggy cried. "Is…is that you?!"

"The one and only," she said. "I've been looking for you…"

Shaggy could only dread the reasons why. Fred wasn't looking at him. He was staring at her and she was staring at him as if a war had been declared on the battlefield of his heart. Yet, she didn't know about them, and Shaggy wasn't about to relay anything about his relationship with Fred if he didn't have to. Especially to her. That was grounds for asking for fireworks.

Scooby watched the beginning of the drama unfold and sighed to himself. He knew things had been off, but he never would have imagined this.

* * *

Before you all scream "How could Shaggy not have seen his parents in all that time! They live in the same town!!", we'll get to that in the next chapter.

No, Fred is not going to pounce Shaggy in front of Googie and scream "MINE!"

And...I think a side story about Fred and Red Herring is in order. We'll see. More in a moment. :)


	3. Waging Silent Wars

AN:

Nothing much going on....just a plot builder of sorts! :)

* * *

**Part 3:**

Fred sighed miserably as he tossed the bags he had in hand to the floor at the side of the bed. They landed with a hard thud, the sound the only thing to accompany his short pacing before he threw himself on the bed. This was not how this was supposed to go. They were supposed to have vacation with their close knit family, enjoy one another, laugh about stuff, eat, and then go home and move on with their lives. There was no room for old lovers popping in from the middle of nowhere, claiming to have been looking for anyone in the plan! The plan was sound…with a few flaws…but this…this just shoved everything in every direction and made him dizzy with several different emotions. Anger came to the forefront, and no one quite said anything when Fred grabbed the bags and walked right past her without a word of greeting.

Daphne had run after him, wisely not saying anything and showing him to the room she'd prepped for his arrival. The only joyful thing he found about this entire situation was that they wouldn't be in separate rooms. He and Shaggy were sharing a room after all, which put to rest the planning of how he was going to sneak out of his room and into Shaggy's each night. Sleeping without his resident hippie was almost impossible these days, and insomnia was not on his agenda. Not anymore at least.

Flopping his arms on either side of him, he stared at the ceiling and huffed. It wasn't worth the effort of being mad, but he couldn't quite help the anger whelming within him. He'd been there when Shaggy had come back from wherever he'd been in the world, exhausted, weary, and just about dead on his feet. At that point, Scooby was his only rock to this world, otherwise the young man would have drifted somewhere else and never come home. Fred quickly found that the source of that slightly dead hung over look was from heartbreak…and the woman who'd stolen Shaggy away was now the woman to beat for a totally different reason.

How could she just show up?! Out of the blue!? What right did she have to come looking for Shaggy after almost a year and some months?! He should have seen it coming, and he knew, KNEW, that eventually the topic of Googie would come up and hit them in the face. But not like this. Not when they were just getting to the best part of their lives.

The door opened itself partially and Fred looked up to see Shaggy peering into the doorway cautiously. Fred felt like shit, and made it known with the defeated slump of his shoulders. That could have been handled better and they both knew it.

"Fred…I—"

"Please…don't apologize, because I don't know what you're apologizing for," Fred sighed. "We didn't ask her to show up…and I sure as hell didn't help matters."

"I know…but I am…sorry about this. I don't know why she's looking for me…"

"She didn't tell you?"

"I kinda…went around the back and came looking for you. I'm…not ready to see her."

Fred slipped off of the bed and made his way to the door, taking those two steps backward when he'd reached it to tug Shaggy into his arms and away from the outside. The door was shut with them leaning on it, Shaggy pressed against Fred and Fred leaning against the door with his head pressed to the wooden surface. By now they were supposed to be in the midst of catching up with their friends and family, not hiding out in their room afraid or too angry to face the reason they were in here in the first place.

"Well…we should find out what she wants…" Fred sighed. "I mean…the sooner we find out, the sooner she goes, right?"

"I don't know…"

"I promise not to interrogate her."

"Yeah right. Knowing you, if you had your way, you'd walk up to her, slam your fist on the table and yell 'TALK!'."

"Awwww….you know me so _well_."

"That's the best part about being with you…I don't have to really guess to know when you're up to something…I just know…and then all I have to do is survive long enough to see what you've done."

Fred squeezed him playfully. The best part of all this in his personal opinion was the way Shaggy didn't try to change him. Shaggy always seemed to go with the flow, or the flow went with Shaggy in one way or another. It was easy to conform to Shaggy when given thought. He only wanted to be laid back and happy with life, which happened when he was around friends, food, or comics. Fred liked to put himself on that list, seeing that he was "with" him.

Shaggy pointed his finger in his face, tapping his nose sternly. "NO. We're not doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Whatever it is you're thinking. Knowing you, you'd drag me in front of her and scream 'MINE!', and then we'd have a whole new problem on our hands."

Fred couldn't keep himself from kissing those slightly smirking lips. "You going to help me unpack our things or what?"

"Huh? Our things?"

"Um…Yeah? This is OUR room after all."

"Like, no sneaking down the hall for some late night nookie?"

"Nope!"

"Ooh…like…I could get used to this."

"Sooo….how about we unpack…make out a little…and then drop in on the waiting parties?"

Shaggy shook his head, silencing any protest from Fred when he kissed the corner of his mouth. "Let's switch the first two around…" he said. "And add something to it…"

Let it never be said that Shaggy didn't have a daring side. Fred twisted the lock on the door…this was going to take a moment…or more.

* * *

By the time they had emerged from the room, a little over an hour had flew by. Not that either one really noticed that until Velma had commented on it. They had meandered their way down to the den, side by side and none the wiser to what went on in their absence. They found everyone sitting in the living room, quiet, lost in their thoughts, or simply enjoying the fire by the fireplace. Scooby had lifted his head when he heard them and went back to his roasting marshmallow. Dogs had a higher sense of what was going on, not to mention his hearing wasn't shot just yet. He was well aware of what went on, though he thought it best not to comment on it. That girl was still here, and it was a good thing that her nose wasn't as strong as his own. She might have gotten an actual clue and then there would have been hell to pay.

Scooby popped the melted marshmallow in his mouth and accepted the warm set of hands on his shoulder and back. It wasn't like he wasn't getting the better part of this deal. Fred and Shaggy together meant double everything…and personally, a double massage sounded heavenly right now. He butted his head against Fred's leg and smacked Shaggy playfully with his wagging tail.

"Scoob, I hope you saved me some!" Shaggy chuckled.

Scooby pointed to the bag nearby. It was almost full. "Relp rour relf!"

"Ooh, I want one too," Fred said.

"One or two?" Shaggy asked.

"Three. I'll find us some hot chocolate to devour."

"I want—"

"Mint in yours. I know…you peppermint freak."

"So says the chocolate hoarder."

"And I don't deny it. Be right back."

To an untrained eye, the two of them looked like two close friends who knew each other inside out. To Daphne, who had a little too much free time on her hands, it was the very image of a young couple in the throw of getting to know one another. She giggled in glee, more than prepared to catch many candid moments of them with their guard down. Velma, sitting aside her, groaned openly and hung her head. Daphne was going to be impossible for the next two weeks.

"Are you all right Velma?" Mrs. Rodgers, or as she liked to be referred to, Angie, asked her.

Velma laughed it off. "I'm quite all right. Daphne's being goofy again."

"I am not!" Daphne exclaimed. She got that dreamy look in her eyes again and sighed just as much. "I think it's sweet…"

"What's sweet?" Mr. Rodgers asked. He liked to be called Lieutenant, but his name was Sam. He was clearly confused about whatever they were talking about, having dropped into the tail end of the conversation. That tended to happen when he was lost in his thoughts. "Did I miss something?"

"I think they were commenting on how close the boys are now," Angie said. She rubbed her husband's arm and rested against it, loving the comfort of her husband when he put his arms around her shoulders. "We haven't seen them like that since they were teens."

"Best of buds…always getting into trouble with the girls and Scooby running behind them," Sam laughed. "Ah…those were good days. I miss them."

Shaggy stood at the fireplace, eyes glued on the fire crackling and the marshmallows roasting nicely on the stick he'd been given. He and Fred being close wasn't even the beginning of it.

Meanwhile, Fred had run into the kitchen in lieu of some cocoa and some mint. Shaggy had always been big on it, and whenever he got his hands on it he was like a kid in a food store. Well, he was like Shaggy would be if there were samples of everything on a toothpick; deliriously happy. He smiled to himself, thinking of the glee to decorate his beloved's face, but the dream was lived short and cut down when he stepped into the kitchen and spied another blonde standing at the counter.

She was staring out the window, watching the leaves as they danced to the ground and rolled and tumbled their way into the cracks and crevasses of the forest and the molting trees. She sighed heavily, her head bowed slightly and her fingers slipping a bit off of the mug she'd abandoned a little while ago. He could smell the coffee lingering in the air, and he could smell the beginnings of their dinner being cooked in the oven nearby. From the smell of it, it looked like Angie was cooking some baked chicken and planned to serve it with some type of vegetable. But that didn't quite matter now.

What mattered was when she looked up and at him, frowning and tensing when he stepped away and headed for the cabinet.

"Are you not going to speak to me for the entire time I'm here?" she asked.

"It's tempting," Fred replied. The warmth in his voice died and left a cold rock that would not budge for anything less than Shaggy's sake. Shaggy wasn't here though. "How long are you here for?"

"As long as it takes…"

"And that means??"

"As long as it takes to get Shaggy to talk to me…I dunno."

Fred pulled two mugs out of the cabinet. He placed them down without slamming them, though it was sincerely tempting, and walked over to the fridge to get the milk. "Might be a while," he murmured, not wanting to think about it. "It has been a while."

Googie frowned deeply, well aware of what Fred spoke of. He didn't need to rub it in her face, and he sure as hell didn't have a reason to be upset with her. At least not on a personal level. "Yes…it has," she bit back. "About over a year…."

"Had some time to think?"

Googie thought she could take the silent war of words, but her emotions and Fred's sarcastic tone got the better of her. "Damn it, Fred…what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Oh I don't KNOW," Fred snapped. He slammed the fridge door shut and turned around waving the gallon of milk in his hands, slamming the plastic thing down on the counter near the mugs. "You just showing up out of the blue is just OKAY. After HOW long…and then you want to talk to Shaggy? Oh….that's just funny."

"Hilarious," she spat. "I don't know why you're so mad…this isn't between you and I. This is between Shaggy and myself, and I'd thank you not to put your two cents in."

Fred resisted the urge to punch the air and howl in h frustration. "Hey! My two cents is every bit as important, and at the moment I don't want to spend them on you!"

"Then don't!"

"Fine!"

"FINE!"

Fred spun around, breathed, and went back to what he was doing. Googie could see the tension in his back, but it wasn't there after few mindless seconds. It was downright scary how Fred could go from zero to sixty to eighty and then slam on the brakes as if nothing ever happened. She thought about going outside, or looking out the window again just to get her mind away from it, but the sight of Fred warming the milk in the microwave and his searching for the peppermint flavoring in the cabinet caught her attention.

Fred was making Shaggy's favorite warm drink…

"….Shaggy asked you to make….that for him?"

Fred shook his head and waited for the beeping of the microwave to tell him that the milk was somewhat warm enough. In his waiting, he'd taken out the cocoa, the mint extract, and found some peppermints in a jar. He quickly and expertly placed those ingredients together and tossed it back into the microwave for one more go round. He placed everything away then, including the second mug.

She noticed that he hadn't placed the peppermints in there yet. They stayed by his relaxed hand, acting as if nothing was wrong. "Shouldn't you put those in??"

He shook his head. "Nope."

The microwave dinged, and Fred took the steaming cup and the mints back into the den. Googie followed him, curious about several things, and wanting to gage the look on Shaggy's face when he got his drink. She missed that look, and she craved to see him smile goofily. It was a smile she'd come to miss rather quickly and suddenly and there was no true way to savor the feeling of seeing it up close through photos.

Fred crossed the threshold quietly, smiling when Shaggy looked up and smiled back at him. He offered up a marshmallow that had just come from the fire, and Fred took the sticky hot thing in trade of the warm drink he'd made for him. Shaggy accepted the mug, and grinned from ear to ear when Fred dropped two mints into the mix with the words, "For you."

"Like…you always remember that," Shaggy chuckled. He took a sip and savored the warmth, the flavor of the chocolate mingling with the mint, and the presence of Fred sitting down aside him in front of the fireplace. He offered him the mug, not surprised when Fred took a huge gulp and handed it back.

"Good stuff," Fred chuckled.

"Like…where's yours then?" Shaggy asked. "Would have made sense for you to make yourself some rather than guzzling mine down."

"Yours taste better."

"Like…you made it!"

"I know…which means I'm king. And I dub thee…sir Mint fiend."

Shaggy nudged him hard, sending fits of laughter up from the people surrounding them. The only one who didn't laugh was Googie, lost in her own thoughts. She hadn't known about that little move Fred had done with the drink…and she didn't understand the look Fred sent her out of the corner of his eye.

Something was unfolding, but she didn't know just what she'd stepped in.

* * *

"So Shags…" Maggie giggled, "Is there someone special??"

Shaggy rolled his eyes, though smiling at the impish form of his sister. She had managed to steal him away for a bit, claiming that she and he needed to catch up for the sake of catching up. They hadn't really talked in years, at least not physically. Emails and such had kept them in touch, and from the look of things she was still the army of one when it came to her family. Her husband and her kids would be along in a few days, and then the fun would really begin.

Shaggy looked down at his gloved hands, smiling a bit. Fred had practically forced them on him, claiming that whenever his hands were cold, he managed to get a cold. The hat on his head was insurance against the claim. Fred had let Maggie snatch him then, calling for them to not get into any trouble. Scooby had refrained from joining them, too comfortable by the fire to bother with a few moments of the cold. So it was just her, and him…and that question she didn't want to let go of.

He toyed with making her wait a moment longer…but she couldn't take it. She was going to bounce out of her boots at this rate. "Oh, fine!" he chuckled. "It happened."

Maggie's eyes grew to saucers. "It did?! OH MY GAWD!!"

"Oof!! Maggie!!"

"I'm just so happy for you Shags!!"

Maggie hugged him harder, rocking him for a moment and then pulling away to leap up and down like the girl she was. Shaggy laughed at her excitement, caught up in it to jump with her and swing her around. They tumbled and fell into a pile of leaves, giggling as if they never left that tender age of childhood.

Maggie sat up and leaned over him. "So tell me everything! Did he come on to you? When did you get together? Oh, I wanna know~!"

"Chill Mags! Like…it just…happened. We went to Daphne's cousin's wedding…and he just happened to be marrying another dude…"

"Like, for real!?"

"For real! And get this…Darrel and Jarrod figured out Fred before he figured out himself…"

"Like, no way!"

"Way! And then…a bunch of stuff I'm not going to tell you…and we've been together for the last three months. So, it's still in the baby stages I suppose, but I'm pretty comfortable. I'm pretty happy too!"

Maggie smiled broadly and pinched his cheeks. "I can see that on my big brother! But if you're together, then why is she here?"

Shaggy shrugged. "Like…I haven't bothered to find out…but I'd better find out soon. She and Fred are like…Chinese firecrackers around each other."

"She did take you away from us Shags…even though Mom, Pop, and I moved from Coolsville, it was like she was hogging you to herself."

"Mmm…Fred mentioned that. He also said…that I needed a break from him. I think I needed a break from running around like an idiot…but that didn't help matters. It's like I'm a trouble magnet. I attract ghosts, ghouls, and the undead! At least being with Fred…I have some kind of sanity."

Maggie smiled sadly at her brother. It was a known fact that the Rodger's family was infamous for getting into all types of things that were out of the ordinary. Pop always seemed to get the craziest of the bad criminals, and their mom always seemed to be in the middle of some project of sorts. She was always in the middle of PTA battles, but they've all had their experiences with nut jobs, Shaggy more so than anyone in their family.

Fred had always been the focal point for Shaggy, and though he was overly enthusiastic about things sometimes, Shaggy seemed to take things in stride. Scooby followed Shaggy's example, and while they were still a bunch of big chickens every now and again, Shaggy seemed much better when he had his real friends around. She was happy for her brother…but that wasn't going to stop her from interrogating Fred when she had a moment alone with him.

"Shags!!" They sat up and spied Fred walking with Velma at his side. Scooby was still nowhere in sight, which probably meant that he was sound asleep by now. "Hey!"

"Like…down here!" Maggie called.

Fred and Velma found their way down the path where Maggie and Shaggy were getting up and plucking the leaves from their hats, hair, and their coat. A couple of friendly hands helped them when they were close enough, though Fred's hands lingered on Shaggy's shoulders after all the leaves had gone.

"Like, that's no way to greet my brother!" Maggie exclaimed. "You greet him nice and proper or else!"

Fred could only stare at her. Shaggy nudged him, blushing a bit when he took Fred's hand into his own. "She knows," he explained, dawning the light on an otherwise oblivious Fred. "I've liked you for a long time…ya know…"

"Since high school actually," Maggie said. "I always thought you'd be stuck on Daphne!"

Fred shook his head wildly. "She's a good girl and all…but I think that was more of a statement than anything else. Nope, I like this right here," he said, comfortably fitting himself around Shaggy. He gave him a nice long kiss, steaming the air between them and fogging Velma's glasses and Maggie's brain. "Should have seen that sooner…"

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Velma laughed. "If I do, I think I'll just retire!"

"I think it's sweet!" Maggie exclaimed. "And about time!"

"Yeah well, as much as you'd like us to make out," Fred said, "We've been told to bring your butts back for dinner."

"Like, oh boy! Food!" Shaggy exclaimed. "What's on the menu??"

Fred kissed him again, this time leading him back the way they'd come with his arm around his waist. "I hope that never changes about you…"

As the girls followed, giggling to themselves a bit, no one seemed to notice the lone form of Googie staring in disbelief up the path. Had she actually seen what she'd seen? Was Shaggy leaning into him like that truly?? She thought back on the look Fred had given her earlier and found the hidden meaning in it. It was a silent warning for her…a war of sorts over Shaggy's heart.

Her small hands fisting at her sides, she turned on her heel and ran back for the cabin. She had to talk to Shaggy…she just had to. Shaggy surely had to be confused about all this…why else would he let Fred do that? She ran as fast as she could, never quite noticing the stare of a dog named Scooby Doo shaking his head tiredly.

Why were humans so weird?

* * *

So....Googie thinks Shaggy is confused, and Shaggy has had a crush on Fred since high school. Complications people...complications. Fred and Googie are about to butt heads in the unspoken war of Shaggy's heart, and Mom and Pop Rodgers still don't have a clue as to how close those two actually are! What do the girls have to say about all this?

Drama! But we love it!

Typical. So, we'll see what happens in the next chapter!! :)


	4. Inviting the Unwelcome

_Greetings everyone NEW and old. ^-^_

_My apologies for the year long hiatus. We're going to call it writer's block and dumb luck. _

_If you've stumbled here by accident, please be aware that while this is a Scooby Doo Fandom, this particular story is SLASH. YAOI for those who wanna use the other word._

_For people who just don't get it...Fred is kissing SHAGGY. (He's also shagging the shaggster, but heh, we know that!) :D Now that We got that out of the way, here are a few reminders:_

_This is a Sequel to my Fic "So Close, So Far". You can find it on my Profile Page. You don't need to read it to really understand this story, but if you want to know how they got together, that story explains how._

_While Trying to keep the realism of this fic, I did have to bend to the will of the masses, my muses, and relent. So, there will be monsters, ghosts, and all that. It just wouldn't be a Scooby Doo fic if there wasn't something weird going on._

_There are references from several Scooby Doo Movies and events, not counting the "real-life" Movies. Scooby Doo timelines are none existence, so I kinda merged them to complement to the story._

_Thanks everyone who reviewed or just read it and kept silent. Although it would be nice to get a little bit of feedback, I'm not holding it against you. However, please be reminded that I do not and will not tolerate Flames in any shape or manner. I see it, I light you on fire, and walk away while you scream. :D Okay?_

_**BTW:** Googie lovers might as well leave. I have no love for the chick, and she and Fred are going to get into it, like, soon. ^-^_

_ONWARD!_

* * *

**Part 4:**

Getting back the cabin didn't take as long as they thought it would, though they dawdled a bit seeing that things were going to be a bit weird when they got back. At least in Shaggy's eyes. Hell, it was weird now not being able to be as free with Fred as he usually was, but there was a certain amount of privacy that he wanted to keep to himself, not to mention the whole factor that was his ex waiting back at the cabin. And his parents! Maggie was one thing, seeing that she was his sister and didn't care what he did as long as he was happy. She was one of the cooler siblings who just happened to be younger, but his parents? As laid back as they wanted to be, there was just no telling their reaction to such a revelation.

Fred tugged at his hands, effectively tugging Shaggy out of his thoughts. "Stop thinking so hard," he said. "You're going to rattle that brain of yours."

"Can't help it…"

"I know…but try. It's not so bad, and it's not like it'll be the end of the world."

Fred just had that uncanny way of knowing what he was thinking. Shaggy smiled shyly and allowed himself to be pulled closer. It was probably as close as they were going to get in the coming hours without actually trying to inhale one another. He took a moment to do just that, inhaling the scent of Fred and his soft cologne. He got a kiss on the side of his forehead for it, and one on his lips that lingered a bit too long and not long enough.

Shaggy never would have said it before, but dinner was going to be hell.

Popping into the cabin, they relished the feel of the warmth seeping into their autumn kissed skin. Though bundled, it was getting a little too close to winter for them not to notice. Fred took their jackets and hung them up, and Maggie practically shoved herself deeper into the cabin when their mom appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. She smiled at the lot of them and waved them towards the dining room.

"You kids hurry and wash up and sit!" she called. "Dinner will be served in a moment!"

Maggie shoved Shaggy a bit playfully, darting with him for the bathroom as they tended to do for the hell of it. Left alone for the moment, Fred looked down at Velma softly shaking her head. A small smile played on her lips, one that he was rather familiar with. He took a moment to take her smaller hand into his, squeezing it lightly in understanding.

"I never did apologize," he said softly.

Velma shook her head again, this time smiling at him. "What will be, will be, Fred. You just take care of Shaggy." She reached up and pecked him lightly on the cheek, giggling when he wiped his face and stuck his tongue out at her. "I do not have cooties!"

"No, you just have book-brain fever…and I'm crazy enough without being a genius." He did kiss her forehead though, laughing when she pelted him in his side. "I'm right and you know it."

They proceeded to wash up for dinner, kicking the squabbling siblings out of the bathroom. Maggie laughed as Shaggy pushed his semi-wet hands into Fred's face, yelping indignantly when Fred hefted him over his shoulders and marched back out the bathroom with Shaggy half yelling, half laughing for him to put him down. Fred did, but just before they got into the dining room. They walked in simply shoving one other playfully, ignoring the knowing looks from the resident Great Dane sitting nearby.

"Boys, do we need to have a kiddie table for the two of you?" Sam laughed.

Shaggy shook his head at his father. "Like, not unless you sit with us."

"And relive _**that**_ food fight?" Angie snorted as she waltzing into dining room with practiced ease. "Please. Spare me the memories of scraping dinner off the wall."

"Like Scoob helped, didn't ya boy?"

Scooby snickered and turned his head into the tender hands rubbing his ears. Maggie always did know where to touch him. "Reah," he acknowledged. "Rood Rimes!"

Angie laughed at him, placing the main course down in the center of the table. "I don't think Scooby wants to lick dinner off the walls now," she giggled. "Anyway, dinner is served. Sam, do you want to bless the food?"

The Rogers weren't the pragmatic religious family that followed the bible to a fault. They didn't go to church every Sunday, quote god whenever there was an opening available, or hurl bible quotes in the oddest of situations. Nevertheless, blessing the food and giving thanks to a higher power was just a part of their lives that they took seriously enough. They'd all been through too much in their lives not to offer someone somewhere thanks for what time they had here on earth and getting to share a meal with the people who were most important. That was basically how their two-week thanksgiving vacation came into fruition almost ten years ago. After a tough year and not being around one another, this was a firm way to keep in contact no matter what the circumstances. A tradition amongst traditions, old and new.

Sam slipped his hand into Angie's, smiling at her as he bowed his head. Maggie took her mother's other hand and grabbed Velma's when she was close enough. Velma grabbed Fred's hand, and Fred warmly took Shaggy's. They shared a look that could have meant anything to anyone glimpsing their way, but it told volumes. Shaggy ducked his head and forced himself not to blush any more than he had. The smile on his face was clear as day, and not to be tempered by anything that could be thrown his way.

Not even when he found himself holding Googie's hand, or **almost** holding it.

Daphne and Scooby had the same idea. They dodged in-between the two, Scooby putting his paw in Shaggy's hand and laughing sheepishly. Daphne, with scooby's other paw in her free hand, shrugged at Googie, taking her left as Sam took Googie's right. The small sigh of relief leaving Shaggy did not go unheard by her ears.

She didn't hear much of what was said.

"….and thank you lord, for allowing us to be here in the comfort of friends and family. Amen."

A resounding course of "Amen" came from the others. Googie mumbled it, dropping her hands from Sam's large and warm one and Daphne's soft and small one. She folded her hands in her lap and sat, at a complete loss of what to do. She needed to talk to Shaggy…soon.

"So what have you all been up to?" Sam asked.

"Not much, pop," Shaggy said. "We don't do the whole Mystery Inc as much as we like, used to."

"You can say that again," Fred muttered. "Too many whack jobs, and now bumping into the real deal? No amount of money is worth it sometimes."

"The real DEAL?" Sam inquired. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what you think he means, Sir," Velma piped up. "A lot of what we get into used to be hoo-hah, but these days, you never know what in the hell you're going to bump into, realistically."

"That whole Zombie Island debacle was enough to put me off of it for a good bit," Daphne sighed.

"Like the Samarai thing wasn't?" Shaggy quipped.

"That too, but I wasn't the one wielding the sword. YOU did that."

"Details, details. Like, people need to seriously not touch some of the creepy shit they come across!"

"Shaggy! Language!" Angie chided.

Sam shook his head laughing at them. "Oh come on Ange…it is what they say: **creepy **_**shit**_. Some of the criminals I come across are up there in that category."

"And that worries me enough without you talking about it." She huffed, stuffing her mouth full of mashed potatoes, ignoring the warm laughter of her husband. He did rub her shoulders in apology, humming in delight as he took a bite out of the chicken on his plate. "Good?"

"Mmm, very!"

"Mom, I don't think you can make a bad meal," Maggie giggled.

"Yeah," Daphne agreed. "My cousin should have hired you instead of the caterers they got, for the wedding," she supplied when they looked at her blankly. "My cousin Jarrod got married a few months ago."

"He did?" Angie cried.

"Yeah! Now that was a fun wedding," she giggled. "I have pictures if you want to see them."

Angie's crooking hands were all Daphne needed to see. She laughed again, producing her purse from her side and photos out of it in the next breath. Daphne was good for that much; she never went anywhere without her purse or anything that she may or may not need. Fred used to joke that she was a walking fashion survival kit, but now he wasn't so sure if that was just teasing anymore. The girl had pulled some weird things out of her purse at the oddest and most useful of times. He'd stopped trying to figure it out the last time she managed to pull out a flare gun.

Daphne started to hand them over, but yanked them back at the last moment. "Sorry," she said slightly apologetic to Angie, who was sorely confused at the delay. "I have to warn you, these aren't your usual wedding photos."

"It can't be that bad," Angie chuckled.

"Well…it depends on your sense of tradition. I should warn you, don't expect the pitter-patter of little feet…unless they adopt."

Googie nearly choked on her fork. Surely Daphne wasn't implying **that**. She looked up abruptly, paling as Angie blinked at the photos in her hand. "Oh…my," she murmured. Googie couldn't gage whether the woman was shocked or appalled. Neither could the others. Shaggy stopped eating all together, shifting in his chair nervously. He'd never asked his parents opinions about preference. He'd never had to. They were always telling them to go out into the world and pursue their dreams while keeping a level head in the process.

He found himself anxious, unnerved to the point where he nearly jumped out of his skin when Fred grabbed his hand and squeezed.

"Freddie…"

Fred shook his head, yanking Shaggy closer to him. "Give it a moment," he mouthed.

Angie didn't do or say anything for a solid moment…and then out of nowhere, she laughed and held her head up to keep it from thudding on the table. She sat back, flipping through the pictures one by one, a small smile on her face as her eyes danced in mirth. Sam looked over her shoulder and whistled softly to himself.

"Your cousin got the better end of the deal…as far as hormones go," Sam joked. "Nice looking lad."

"Darrell is a real sweetheart," Daphne gushed. "Totally puts Jarrod in line…and Jarrod doesn't complain. I'd say he was the lucky one."

"Oh…this isn't nearly as bad as Red's wedding," Angie giggled.

"Red?" Maggie asked. She dropped her fork when her mother nodded without looking up. "RED?"

"Yes, Red. Red Herring. Married a nice young man by the name of Gilbert Wilson. Colorful affair…but we could have done without the Disco Light up show during the reception. That was all for Red's mother's appeasement, I assure you."

Shaggy forgot about his anxieties then and there. He was as wide eyed as the bunch of their little group, staring incredulously at the cooing woman gushing over the lovely pictures in her hand. She'd just implicated, no, TOLD them that their neighborhood childhood bully with the bright curly red hair had married a MAN, and she didn't seem to be the least bit phased by it. Sam's shoulders shook silently as he took in their startled faces. He had to keep himself from laughing outright at his son, torn between trying to wrap his brain around his mother's lax nature and digesting what he'd been told about someone who used to live to torture them.

It was a little much to digest, even for someone with a cast iron stomach. Shaggy actually shoved his plate away, groaning the longer he thought about it.

Fred looked like he'd vomit any second.

"Your cousin and his spouse are lovely my dear," Angie said when she was done. She handed the photos back and tucked into her meal again. "I hope they have many happy years together, as Sam and I have."

"Minus the crazed stuff," Sam said. "Everything in bliss…except the crazed stuff."

"So…I take it that it doesn't bother you that they're men," Velma deduced.

Angie shrugged. "Why should it? Everyone's entitled to find love. Even Red."

Shaggy didn't think his heart could drop from his throat so quickly. His mom didn't care! Wait, she didn't care about two men being together, but that didn't include her **own** son. It was something new to worry about, but Fred's hand on his kept him from it. It was reassuring if nothing more.

"Ugh, mom…I want to keep my stomach where it is," Maggie muttered. "I can't believe Red Herring…oh god, like…I can't even say it. I might hurl all over the table."

"So…you're uncomfortable with two men being together?" Googie asked.

Maggie lifted her head sharply once more, eyeing the blonde girl something fierce. She worked her jaw once, forced herself to relax, and picked her fork up to spoon something in her mouth before she could spit or hurl. "Don't be daft about it," she snapped. "I'm not against it. It's just the thought of….HIM." She shuddered openly, drawing laughter from the others as they shared her sentiments. "That's like…putting salmon paste in the middle of an Oreo cookie and guzzling it down with rancid orange juice."

Shaggy shoved his plate away a little more. "Like, I'll eat later," he muttered when Fred looked at him.

"He's changed quite a bit," Angie said. "You'd be surprised. I think you've all changed…for the better of course."

Scooby snorted and pointedly did not look Googie's way. The girl was barely eating, sitting listlessly as she glanced over at Shaggy and Fred from time to time. Shaggy had stopped eating all together, looking violently ill as he tried to keep his stomach from rolling in protest to the news. Fred wasn't eating as fast, but his hand was still on Shaggy's, albeit under the table. It went on like this another moment, until Shaggy unceremoniously dropped his head on Fred's shoulder and hid his face.

"Shags, you wanna lay down?" Fred asked softly.

"Like, no," he murmured. He leaned into Fred, relaxing against the hand that had let go of his and started to rub his back. Getting worked up like he did wreaked havoc on his nerves and his appetite. He hated getting anxious, and he hated coming down from such anxieties with news that turned his head. He never felt right afterwards. Fred was well aware of it, and did his best to comfort the slightly shaking man. "Let my stomach recalibrate itself. I'll, like, be okay in a moment," he said softly.

"Raggy…"

"I'm fine Scoob. Like, I need to wrap my head around it all."

Dinner was a quiet affair afterward. They didn't talk too much about anything serious, but did exchange stories about their misadventures in real life. They eagerly tucked into Sam's stories about the job in the office as they finished dinner, laughing as his recount of a nudist running about freely screaming "Let the balls fly free!" ended with Angie bringing out dessert for everyone. The warm smell of apple pie had everyone enticed, even Shaggy, who'd barely touched his dinner.

As Sam took his pie in hand, he looked over at the blonde girl who hadn't said much throughout dinner. "So, Googie," he said, getting her startled blue eyes to land on him. "What brings you all this way?"

"Ah…well, it's…kind of complicated," she said softly. What brought her up here was liable to get her killed in the end, and she wasn't sure when that was. Regardless of who would bring about her death—it was looking like Fred the longer he tried not to glare at her—it wasn't something she could put off anymore. "I needed to talk to Shaggy, but I couldn't find him," she explained. "I figured he'd be here around now…I was just taking my chances when I came up here."

"Looks like you lucked out."

Scooby snorted and buried his head against his paws. "Reah…really," he muttered quietly.

"Looks like," she said feebly.

"You could have emailed me or something," Shaggy said. It was the first time he had said anything to the girl, remotely other than the awkward greeting she'd gotten earlier that day. She shrugged, opting not to fall into the baited question. "My email hasn't changed."

"I know…but some things need to be said in person. **Privately**," she stressed.

Shaggy lifted his head, his ire more than apparent in the stiff position he took even with Fred's hand on his back. "My number hasn't changed **either**," he bit back.

"I couldn't be sure of that…not after…"

"Like, you could have tried."

Googie avoided looking at the others, staring down at her untouched pie. "Maybe we should move this conversation…outside," she suggested. She got up before she could change her mind, almost fleeing the room when she felt Fred's heated glare burning holes in her backside. She was gone in a heartbeat, Shaggy getting up to follow on the second and third erratic arrhythmia that Fred's heart seemed to take.

Fred clenched his hand in the place where Shaggy had been, fighting to breathe normally.

Scooby pushed his head into Fred's lap, whining softly. Fred's hands fisted themselves into his fur and he bent down to hide his face from the others and himself.

Something was wrong. Very Wrong.

* * *

The door slammed itself somewhat as Shaggy stepped outside into the chilled air. Night was coming faster these days, darkness seeping into the light that was day through the wooden area that surrounded him. The porch light helped him to see what could be seen in the sparse lighting. Googie stood off to the right of him, shifting uncomfortably from her left to right foot. He didn't know what to make of it. The girl was never this nervous about anything, even when she'd abruptly crushed his heart into the cavern of his soul. At least she'd had the decency then to make sure he'd eaten, because he didn't eat for days afterward.

What little in his stomach was threatening to come up the longer they stood there in the silence of autumn. He didn't know what she wanted, or why she wanted it now, after a year of not seeing her, not speaking to her, and not actively thinking of her morning, noon, and night with a hallow ache in his heart. Coming back to Coolsville after traveling for so long with her was probably the hardest thing he could have done. He expected the worst from the friends he'd abandoned for the sake of love, but they'd taken him back with open arms. More so when it came to Fred.

Fred who was probably trying his best not to freak out inside.

Fred who meant the world to him and more before and after the Saga of Googie.

Shaggy firmed his lips and crossed his arms against his slender chest. Googie slowly looked at him, fiddling with the ends of her jacket.

Another moment passed, and then, "Well spit it out!" Shaggy snapped. Googie, truly shocked by the outburst nearly toppled over the railing. Shaggy grabbed her and hauled her back, setting her right as he said, "Look, I don't have all day. Whatever it is you need to talk to me about, like, spit it out. NOW."

That was not the reaction she was expecting. "I think you've been hanging around Fred a little too much," she growled softly.

"You're avoiding the question. What do you want from me? What was so important that you have to, like, talk to me in person? What's so goddamn important that you come waltzing back in like nothing's changed, like I'll just stand here and let you waste what little time there is left in the world for me to care?"

"Shaggy! I know you don't mean that…"

Shaggy stepped out of her reach before she could grab his jacket. "Googie…you LEFT me," he growled. "You left me with a broken heart. Nothing heals that. NOTHING."

"You never paid any attention to me!"

"What the hell?"

"You didn't!" she cried, angrily jabbing her finger in his face. "I'd have to beg you to go out to movies, to go out with me! I'd have to drag you out of the BED just to get a little sunshine! And all you'd do is ask where the food was!"

"Did you ever stop to think for like, a fucking minute, that MAYBE I was TIRED? Shit, Googie," Shaggy muttered rubbing his temples, "I get what the hell you were trying to do, really I DO. It's not called **dating** for no reason. You made it clear that you didn't want to be with me, and I get that too. What I don't get, is why you're here now!"

"I—"

Something cold and foul filled the air before she could tell him. She froze, shivered violently as she swung herself around to peer into the darkness. "No," she whispered, hugging her arms and backing away. "No…fuck, no!"

"Googie?"

"They've found me…" she hissed, swinging herself away from where she was looking. She grabbed Shaggy by his jacket, fearfully looking at him with such wide frightened eyes that Shaggy didn't know if he could feel fear as deeply as he did then and there. He felt her fingers tighten themselves, pulling at him until he had no choice but to move closer. "Oh lord…they've found me!"

"Who is THEY?" Shaggy cried.

Something moved. Something swift and fast, darker than the shadows surrounding them. Shaggy couldn't see what it was, but the inbred fear that kept him alive all these years made him run. He yanked Googie from her rooted spot and shoved her into the door he managed to somehow open with his shaking hands.

Something clawed at his back, and he screamed bloody murder.

Fred was running before he could hit the floor. Shaggy tumbled into his arms, holding on to the brawn that swung him around effortlessly into his father's embrace. Googie tumbled to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. The girls, Daphne and Velma, screamed as that shadowed thing clawed its way into the house, hissing and howling something awful into the air. The putrid smell of its breath could knock anyone out.

Shaggy forced himself up, turned, and screamed with the rest of them as that thing ripped at Fred's arms. Fred ignored the blinding pain, shoving his shoulder into the door with all his might until it slammed with a sickening crack. Clawed fingers yanked themselves free of the wooden entrance, a scream like none they'd ever heard piercing their ears. Whatever it was that was out there hissed out something…and then it was gone.

Fred kept himself against the door, even after he'd sagged to the floor in a daze. Shaggy ran over to him, heart back in his throat and worry in the tears he tried not to shed as he tore Fred's shirt off of his arms. The ache in his back was nothing now, a farfetched thought in his mind as it filled with overwhelming fear for Fred.

"No…no no," he whimpered, fingers slick with blood. "Fred, no…"

Fred looked up at him, smiled softly…and promptly passed out.

"FRED!"

* * *

Cliffhanger! XD

More soon.

**AN:** People, you and I know that some people are highly...highly oblivious. Mom and Pop Rogers...yeah, a bit oblivious.

And how many people thought I was going to say Googie had a kid that belonged to Shaggy? Pfft, get real. That was way too obvious.

Here come the monsters! ^-^ Read and Review! No FLAMES~~!

* * *

_**Preview:**_

_"No. You're like…joking," Shaggy muttered, sitting back in disbelief. "You have to be. You wouldn't come here knowing something like that was following you…"_


	5. Living Nightmares

_Okay...it's been about three months since I've updated this fic!_

_That is a serious Boo on my part. Sorry folks. I think I over did the cliffhanger thing! lol_

_Once again I want to thank those who've kept in touch with the story despite my long winds between updating. Thanks for all the reviews and the screaming about the cliffhanger...and not killing me in my sleep. ;)_

_I've got some time on my hands, so we're continuing the story. I'm not promising frequent updates, but they'll be closer together._

_If you don't know and you wandered here through some random link:_

_This is a SLASH story in the Scooby-verse. Between Fred and Shaggy. YES. THEM. If you have issues hit the back button and go wash your eyes out with soap and acid. Or whatever will blind you. I seriously don't care for flamers, negative reviews, or whatever else you have to throw at me in the disgusting sense. So please take note that if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it._

_Otherwise, I hope you have fun reading this! There's nothing graphic in this chapter...although the next few chaps will be..._

_And I'm not saying which type of graphic. ;D you'll have to see that on your own._

_There will be no references from the new Scooby Doo Series on Cartoon Network **"Scooby Doo Mystery Inc".** I don't watch it often enough to make good on it, however I will note the fact that Shaggy and Velma are dating in that series and Fred has no clue about Daphne liking him that much...which makes it gold. LOL_

_There will be references to the many Scooby Doo movies and Characters that have appeared in them, with many references to **Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf** . _

_Googie lovers...stop reading now. That's all I can say.  
_

_I think I'm done now. Yeah. :)  
_

* * *

**Part 5:**

"No. You're like…joking," Shaggy muttered, sitting back in disbelief. "You have to be. You wouldn't come here knowing something like that was following you…"

Googie held her head in her hands tiredly, the life in her blue eyes dull and faded with the passing hour that'd left them here. Here at the table over a cold dessert than had little taste or meaning to anyone who didn't have a stomach right now. Angie had tried to get their attentions away from the matter for a little bit, but food wasn't working. Shaggy had flat out refused to touch anything food like, in fear that he would finally succumb to vomiting.

His hands still shook, cold and warm with the blood of his lover still staining his fingers.

"I didn't think they'd find me this soon," she muttered. "I had no intention of leading those things here."

"And just **what** are those things?" Velma asked.

"I don't know…" Googie sighed miserably. "I don't know what they are. They just SHOW up!"

"So when did they start _**showing**_ up?"

"….about a year ago," she said quietly, looking up at Shaggy briefly. "About a month after…we…broke up."

Shaggy's stomach flipped and turned itself inside out. He kept himself from dry heaving, but saying anything, opening his mouth slightly for any reason was going to upend everything he'd ingested today. For the simple fact of saving face and to keep everyone from worrying more, he kept his mouth pressed tightly together. Even if he didn't feel like emptying out his stomach, the assumption that hung heavy in the air was not allowing him to think or say anything with a bit of decorum.

Daphne, however, was not under that influence. "So what are you saying?" she snapped, getting up from the chair she'd been sitting in. Her swift movements caught everyone off guard, especially the blonde woman she walked up to and made jump with her hands slamming themselves on the table. "Are you saying that this is Shaggy's fault? Are you seriously implying such a thing?"

"N-no!"

"Daphne, calm down!" Warm but somewhat shaking hands placed themselves on her shoulders. Velma had always been the one to reason with things, however absurd they might have been, and she was the local peacemaker of the group when things were looking unsavory. "We'll never find anything out this way. Okay? Just chill out for a minute…" Daphne allowed the smaller woman to pull her back, but she in no way fixed her face to hold anything aside contempt for Googie. She did back off, but not much.

Velma, more than a bit perturbed, glared at Googie. "You'd better talk. And I do mean explain **everything**."

The blonde woman shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She was used to Fred being mad at her. That went without say. The glorified blow ups they had before she'd taken Shaggy away were well known and documented within their minds as a fallen chapter. However, she was not used to the unkind mindset of Daphne. The frown on her face didn't seem to sit right. She didn't dare think about what she was contemplating.

Velma wasn't much better, and sitting there under the registered genius's scrutiny made her want to hide somewhere. There wasn't much else to do other than explain, and she didn't even know where to start.

"I…it's like a said," she murmured softly, "it s-started after Shaggy and I broke up."

"A month you said," Velma corrected. "You said a month after. Please, try to get the facts straight…and I'm not saying it to be mean," she said when the girl looked at her crossly. "I'm only saying it to factor it into whatever the hell you managed to get yourself caught up in and drag us into unknowingly through your ignorance."

"Like….Velma." Shaggy's soft tired voice drew her attention to him and his shaky self when he shook his head. "Try to leave some skin on her back." It would do them no good to push Googie into a hysterical mindset. Googie calm and collected could recall much, and that was what they needed. When she was in a state of hysteria, it could take anywhere from an hour to all night to calm her down long enough to get two and two to add up to four. He knew her well enough to know that she was on the verge of breaking down again, and as much as it hurt him to see her like that, he was a lot more worried about the unresponsive Fred lying bandaged up on the couch.

He wanted nothing more than to go over to where Fred lie. He desperately wanted to ignore the violent roll of his stomach when flashes of red flickered in his mind, and to curl up in a scared ball and hide under Fred as he told him that everything would be all right. Fred was always the one to say that, the one that always made sure that it happened and that their little group stayed intact. Yet now, he was silent on the couch…drifting in an out of whatever sleep he'd fallen into with open wounds bandaged as best as possible. He'd fallen to protect Shaggy, and their resident hippie couldn't have been more grateful and irate.

It was perhaps the only reason he forced himself to sit there and listen, and not think about how they should be headed for the hospital rather than worry that this thing was lurking about, ready to do unspeakable harm to them because of his ex.

Shaggy's jaw firmed itself, and the hippie who was relaxed eighty percent of his life lost the cool sway of his flow and took on the look of his father when he was in the room with a criminal.

Maggie gasped softly at her brother, not used to that look on his usually gentle face. Scooby nuzzled her trembling hands, worried but understanding of Shaggy's mood.

"Explain it ALL," he snapped tersely. "Every bit of it. Leave nothing out, or you can just deal with that thing yourself."

Googie sat ramrod in her chair. "Y-you…you can't mean that!"

"Like hell. None of this shit makes sense…and right now…" Shaggy paused to look at his hands, shaking with the effort not to lose it at the sight of the dried blood. His own wounds hurt, but none more so than his heart knowing that they were wasting time. Fred needed help. **Now**. "Right now is not a good time to fuck around. SO, spit it out…quickly. We deserve that much."

She slumped down in her chair, weary, defeated, and unable to process the madness that surrounded her. The tears fell, but she wiped them away angrily. "All I know is that they appeared exactly one month after you and I broke up," she said. She took a moment to dry her nose on her sleeve, disgusted by it and the sad fact that this is what life had become. Shaggy glaring coldly at her did odd things to her stomach, uncomfortable enough for her to get up and just leave well enough alone. Yet she couldn't. She'd come here looking for a solution, and this would have to be a part of it, no matter what. "I was sleeping…and all I remember is waking up screaming because…these...th-these things were surrounding me…"

"Describe these things," Velma instructed. "What do they look like? Can you recall anything about them that was distinguishing?"

"I-I-I don't know…They're shadows…At least they travel like them." Googie shuddered as she fought to bring up the memories without screaming all over again. "They appear whenever I think they're gone…and they're always haunting me in my sleep…they're fingers are like ice…and being touched by them…it's like the waking dead," she whispered. "They're always….always screeching…"

"Sounds like more of a nightmare than anything else," Daphne murmured.

"Worse…much worse…I thought…I thought Shaggy could help…"

"And therein lies the truth," Sam mused softly. Googie looked up at the man, not surprised to see the scrutiny on his face as he studied the situation from his own perspective. "I suspect there's more to this than you are telling us…or are willing to tell us," he surmised. "I believe that the aid of my son wasn't your first choice. Was it?"

"N-no…I didn't want to bring him into this."

"All honorable and such…but you have, and for your deception there is an innocent person lying wounded in the next room. I suggest you remember that some meetings are best held at a distance where one can prepare for the unexpected. Otherwise…you might be looking at Shaggy lying there instead of Fred."

It was a cold hard truth, one that had her sobbing all over again. Angie laid her hands on her husband's slightly trembling shoulders. She knew better than anyone that Sam didn't take to having anyone he cared for hurt because of foolish notions. He also didn't mince the truth, no matter how much it may hurt a person. Sometimes that was the best possible way to get at the heart of the matter. As much as it may have pained them to see it from the other side of the fence, this girl had been hurting for a long time with this.

She handed Googie a tissue and gently eased the girl out of her seat to help her wash her face.

Shaggy forced himself up from his seat. He'd heard enough for the moment. The worry was beginning to eat away at him. Without so much as a word he walked away from the silence and into the living room to tend to his fallen friend and lover. Scooby followed, but sat at the entrance way to deny anyone access unless they were there to help.

Shaggy hadn't wandered two steps toward where Fred lie when he heard the man muffle a scream. Fred was awake, in obvious pain, and sitting up wincing at the wrapped wounds on his arms. They'd done all they could to keep him from bleeding out, yet it was noted that he would indeed have to have stitches for the deeper gashes. Wrapping the wounds and treating them with readily available antiseptics would ensure that he wouldn't get an infection right off. It was common procedure for them when they were hurt.

Shaggy shook. He didn't like it when they were hurt.

He didn't like it when Fred was hurt.

"Shaggy….?"

Shaggy gave him a weak smile. "Like…way to throw yourself at a monster for me."

Fred seemingly didn't quite care if he was hurt or not. Realization lit a fire in him and he was off the couch running, grabbing Shaggy in his embrace when he was close enough; holding him as if he would fade if he let go. Shaggy let him, needing the contact, needing to know that Fred would be okay. Fred would regret it, and Shaggy would too when their wounds finally caught up to them, but for now Shaggy's head against Fred's shoulder was all the medicine they needed.

"I'd do it every time," Fred whispered. "I'm not letting you get hurt again…"

Shaggy clung to him. "I know." He did know it, but that didn't mean he liked it. Fred's gentle kiss against his head relayed all he needed to know, and he clung a little harder wishing this were over.

The others stood behind a protective Scooby, torn at the sight of Shaggy sobbing quietly.

* * *

It was decided that morning would be a safer time to get them the help they needed. They couldn't be sure that those things or whatever had attacked them was still out there in the darkness. Fred wouldn't risk it, no matter how much his arms hurt him. After regaining consciousness, he made a vital and painful effort to keep vigilance over Shaggy, especially when he heard that Googie was the one to bring those things here. She had fled to her temporary room and locked herself in there when she saw him up and about. She hadn't come out either, not until night had safely passed over them and left a bunch of rather tired adults half drained from not sleeping properly.

Daphne and Velma were up half the night doing research on what Googie had described to them. Velma always kept her laptop on her. Then was as good a time as any to find something to help them get rid of whatever was out there. It helped to keep her mind off of the what ifs, and what she might have done if someone was truly hurt. She didn't want to think about it let alone acknowledge that Shaggy could have been…

Her fingers flew over the keyboard until she literally fell asleep in the middle of it.

Daphne had kept her company, silently watching her and wondering just what they were dragged into this time. They certainly weren't strangers to mysteries, and with recent events, they were well aware that the mysterious was just that. When she was younger she might have scoffed at the tale of ghost, goblins, and demons roaming about freely. Now…now she wished she could scoff at that and mean it.

She'd placed a blanket over Velma's shoulders when the young woman had passed out, and gone into the living room to sleep on the other couch with Scooby sleeping on the floor aside it.

Shaggy had slept fitfully on sofa bed. Fred was with him, in and out of his own dosing. Fred would wake because of the pain in his arms, and Shaggy would wake with him, shivering, bolting out of the bed and trying to make sure Fred was all right. His mind still hadn't left that god awful moment. He'd scrubbed his hands raw, washing and washing until his hands were red, and then again trying to rid himself of the image. He'd hovered and jumped when Fred would move; afraid he'd wake up and find that Fred was still lying on the floor…

And then the tears would come, and they just didn't seem to stop.

Fred was well versed in Shaggy nonverbal speak. He didn't have to ask to know that Shaggy was trying to deal with it in his own way, but there was no running from it. He'd had an honest to god rupture of his reality, death getting too close for anyone to be comfortable for a long while yet. It was personal this time, and the very harsh truth of it was that death could have come to visit them and left with a prize this night. It was a very ugly thing that kept Shaggy trembling even in his sleep, and kept Fred humble and willing to do it all over again just to keep Shaggy safe. Shaggy wasn't the only one who was troubled by it. Fred did his best to keep his own worries at bay, more concerned with his hippie and getting him back to some normalcy.

They finally fell asleep when exhaustion had gripped them with the added assistance of some warm milk and honey. Shaggy did his best not to crowd Fred and his arms, although that didn't matter when Fred still managed to wrap himself around Shaggy. He wouldn't tell Shaggy, but holding him made Fred that much more grateful that he hadn't bitten the dust…and that Shaggy wasn't in his place.

Sam had stayed up the entire night, sleeping for an hour at dawn. At seven he was up again, making the rounds on the cabin and checking on his son and his friends. Angie slept at his insistence, although she was up every now and again checking on him as well. Maggie stayed with her mother, keeping her company throughout the night. They fell asleep on the bed around three and didn't wake even after Sam peeked in on them around seven. He decided to make coffee then, and moved to do so.

On his way to the kitchen, he passed through the living room to take a quick surveillance of his son, Fred, Daphne, and Scooby. The Great Dane was up and aware, solemn and looking left and right as if he'd been doing so all night. His gaze often landed on the two men snoring softly on the sofa-bed. Normally Sam was content to leave well enough alone and chalk it up to boys being boys, but his son had been anything but a boy for a long while now. At the age of twenty-five, his son had filled out to be a fine looking young man, and in favor with a certain Blonde that wasn't the weeping woman upstairs. Fred, though sleeping, had the embrace and look of a man who had claimed what was his. His face was buried against his son's backside, his injured arms somehow managing to keep hold of his prize without him waking from pain. A man who didn't know better would confuse it with spooning, but this was more. His son's ease in his face and in his relaxed snoring was more than enough evidence for the dumbest of rookies.

Even if the dumb ones didn't get it, what he saw next was pure proof.

Sam gently patted Scooby on his head in passing. Scooby nudged his hand, keenly watching as Fred placed a loving but sleep ridden kiss to the body that turned his way, dropping off into la-la land seconds later. Sam was sure Fred hadn't seen him. Otherwise he'd have been up and babbling, trying to explain what needed no explanation. He smiled and went to place a pot of coffee on the stove, not surprised to see Velma up and staring into a half empty bowl of cereal.

"So…how long did it take them to wake up and smell the coffee?" he asked.

Velma laughed a little as he shook the coffee can in his hand, winking. "Longer than it should have by the looks of things," she admitted. "It was strange seeing it at first…but now I can't think of them not together."

"Hmm…I knew Norville was a bit of a hippie…gets that from his mom," he snickered, "but I also knew Fredrick was the type to walk with the hippies, and protect them. Fiercely from what I've seen." Last night had been a real revelation, one he couldn't ignore. Fred moving like that…one would think he was a trained officer. Fred certainly had the protective instincts. "So…is should probably tell him that this isn't an issue. Correct?"

"It would be wise. Shaggy generally doesn't care…outwardly."

"Gets that from his mom, too. So…what will it be my dear? Black coffee or some weirdly named thing from Starbucks on the way to the nearest hospital?"

Velma giggled and pointed to the canister. "Black…and keep it coming. I think we're in for a long day." Especially after she got done talking to the only blonde woman in the house. That girl was hiding something vital, and Velma was going to pry it out of her…painfully if she had to.

* * *

"Fred…stop picking at it!"

"I can't help it," Fred groused. He did relent when Shaggy grabbed his hands and shoved them into his lap without letting go. He couldn't help but do so. "They itch…"

"Stitches tend to do that."

"I know…how's your back?"

Shaggy was pleasantly numb in that area, though not for reasons he would have liked. The smug look on Fred's face earned him a swat in his shoulder. "Like, you're such a perv. " Fred laughed and Shaggy shook his head, scooting closer to him. "Seriously…we can discuss that later. Right now…I'm like, so ready for a nap."

The drive to the closest hospital took them about a half hour. It took them about two hours to get everything looked at, checked, diagnosed, and stitched up. Maggie had driven them there and back, Scooby deciding to stay behind with the girls incase that thing decided to show itself in the middle of the day. It was highly unlikely, but they kept a vigilant outlook. Fred was a little against letting anyone aside himself drive his SUV, but there was little choice in the matter. Even now the drugs he was on made this trip more than a little trippy, and that was saying something considering that his high was only life when it was good.

Driving up the narrow road that would lead them back to the Cabin, Shaggy sighed quietly from where he was seated in the back with Fred. This wasn't how their holidays were supposed to go. If anything, last night should have resulted in the typical off setting nonsense that people watched during daytime television. Hell, Googie telling him that he was a father would have been welcome, albeit uncomfortable and questionable considering that they weren't as intimate as one would believe. She was still there this morning when they left, in her room, quiet and brooding. Daphne had called out to the girl to make sure she was still alive. Shaggy had only seen a glimpse of her face before he was being ushered out of the door by Fred and Maggie.

He still didn't know what all this was about, and now he wasn't so sure he wanted to know. Unknown elements were dangerous. It was a basic rule that had kept them alive.

"And here we are," Maggie announced as they came to a stop. "Back at the Cabin….and wondering if Dad has locked down the place…yet."

"Like, that's a given," Shaggy sighed. "We might as well go in and see the new security parameter."

"Your dad's parameters are so cool," Fred crowed. "I wonder what he's done this time…"

"Nothing short of what you'd probably do."

Shaggy could safely say that his father and Fred were alike in that area of their lives. Sometimes it was a blessing, and other times it was more trouble than it was worth. Shaggy slipped out of the SUV with little difficulty, racing to the other side to open the door. Fred was waiting, smiling up at the hippie when the door opened.

"No."

"Oh come on! I wasn't going to do anything…illegal!"

"Fred…you're a little doped up right now. When you're at a pain level of like, five, then we'll talk about it."

"Talk about what?" Maggie asked.

Fred eased himself out of the vehicle. "Talk about dragging her out here and making her talk."

"Oh. Shags, I totally agree with Freddie."

"And this is why you're my favorite sister in law to be!"

Fred threw his arm around Maggie's shaking shoulders, riddled with soft laughter as they walked back to the cabin.

Shaggy walked after them, his cheeks aflame and warmth settled into the icy pit that had bothered him since last night. Had Fred been a bit sober, he might not have said that aloud. Still, drugs had to be good for something.

He walked into the Cabin with a lighter heart, although that didn't do much for his spirit when he realized that Googie was out of her room and waiting for him. He could see her outline against the frame of the living room entrance, slouched, dejected, and tense as Fred stumbled by her with little more than a glance. Maggie didn't pay her much mind either; too perturbed that it could have indeed been Shaggy there last night rather than Fred. She didn't wish harm on Fred, but the relief knowing that it wasn't Shaggy…

It was a slight guilt she was willing to live with.

"Raggy!"

Shaggy knelt down and greeted his long time companion. "Hey scoob. Like, is everyone here?"

"Reah! Relma…round romething!"

He was being shoved by the dog's head into the depths of the living room where everyone was indeed waiting. His mother and father seemed indifferent to his arrival, but the wringing hands of his mother and the slight sneer of his father were the telltale signs that something was amiss. His sister had already seated herself a good distance away from their parents, knowing that their father was a bit of a hothead when his ire was brought to the surface. Shaggy had no way of knowing what had caused it, and he swallowed silently, hoping that it had nothing to do with him, the couch, and Fred this morning.

"Like what's going on?" he asked. "Velma found something?"

Daphne, usually the warmer of them and full of life looked pale and withdrawn. Her eyes danced as if she'd seen the edge of hell and stepped into it, long enough to see the devil laughing. She looked at him, and then at Fred, worry shining over the dread. "Oh…she found something all right," she murmured. "Shaggy…I think you'd better sit down."

"I don't like it when you tell me that."

"I know you don't…but it'd be better for you to—Velma, are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," Velma sighed. She wished she wasn't. She wished that her brain wasn't as perceptive as it was. She was certainly wishing that she didn't have a vast knowledge about these types of things, and that she hadn't remembered something of what Googie had said last night. "I'm always sure about these things…regardless of how much I want to be _**wrong**_."

"But…Velma…"

"We have to tell him..."

"Oh dear god…"

"Someone tell me already!" Shaggy snapped. Daphne was surely taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor, but it wasn't something she was unfamiliar with. Shaggy was indeed a lain back person, but the lack of sleep, food, and stress from a situation that he had no control of coupled with last night would make anyone's nerves frizzle. His were short of blown, and his friends debating to tell him anything was not a good sign. "Just spit it out and be done with it…like for my own sanity's sake."

Velma looked at Daphne. The Blake heir shook her head and placed them in her hands, trying but failing in her effort not to cry. Velma wiped her eyes a bit, though from tears or exhaustion, one couldn't tell. "Shaggy…those things last night," Velma said softly, "Those things…are literal nightmares…"

"Nightmares?" Shaggy asked. "Like...as in Bad dream nightmares? Things that like, go bump in the night?"

"Yeah…"

"….so what does that have to do with me?"

He shouldn't have asked. He heard it coming and it didn't make him feel any better when it reached his ears. "Shaggy, I'm so sorry!" Googie was sobbing over and over. She'd crumpled to the floor, unable to keep it together anymore than Daphne, although it was rather strange to see his mother stare coldly at nothing rather than become a weeping mess like the girls. Maggie was on the verge of tears herself.

Velma swallowed thickly, adjusting her glasses a bit as she tried not to look at Sam growling softly from his seat. "Yes well…those nightmares…aren't just random nightmares…" She hated being the one to have to explain it; hated being the one who noticed Fred's brain clicking things together before she could say it aloud, knowing that he was going to lose what cool he could hold onto. Fred was short of snapping his own jaw from gritting his teeth too hard. She didn't want to say it, but no one else could…not without doing something rather stupid yet justified. "They…they're **your** nightmares…."

"…excuse me? Mine?"

"Listen…from what I could gather, I'd say that someone was meddling in something they had no business in meddling in," Velma explained, purposely not looking at Googie. "Your nightmares were taken away…but they have nowhere to go….except after the one who called them free…or the ones you love…and these nightmares just don't scare…" She paused, not loving this part as much as she would have if it were someone else. The urge to be sick was strong, stronger still when Shaggy stumbled under the weight of her words. "They rip apart their victim…and die only when their victim dies…or if the one they came from…dies."

Shaggy felt the world tilt from underneath him.

He was falling, and darkness swept him from the screams of Fred rushing to get to him.

* * *

And I did it again.

Ooh look! Shaggy with a backbone! :D

No worries folks...the next chapter is being written. :) It won't be a month this time! Or a few months...hehee...^-^;;


	6. Lifelines for Burdens anew

_O-M-G. It's another update! *listens to the screams*_

_I know...totally freakish right?_

_Before we go on, this chapter backtracks a little bit. It picks up somewhere between the time the boys and Maggie left for the hospital and Shaggy fainting. So don't come running to me saying, "Wait, I don't get it!" It's one of those things were you kinda have an inside view of HOW Velma got the information. Not the way one would think, but...yeah._

_Also, we took a slight detour from the darkness in this chapter. Why? Because it's not going to be very sunshine and roses and group laughter later on._

_Yes, this is not your typical "lets split up gang!" Fanfiction, and yeah...Shaggy has some type of backbone. _

_Okay, I normally don't do this for my own reasons, but I can't resist now._

_**SininSpira:** LOL! As much as I would love to kill Googie off, I can't do that YET. :) In all honesty, one of the movies for Scooby Doo popped up again, and I was inspired to keep writing this little project of mine. No worries though; I have no plans to up and kill one of the main characters. Someone WILL DIE though...but I'm not saying who. *mysterious grin*_

_(Also I am a total dork because I just got the meaning of your name. *thunks her head* Sin in Spira. DUH! lol)  
_

_** Lephantomessa**: Shaggy should have a backbone every now and again. __::stares at the ghost:: I would offer you a drink, but then however would I continue this fic? Hehee, just kidding. ;)_

_Thank you for the kind words! I'm hoping this slight deter from the darkness doesn't send you running. I'm hoping it's not as sappy as I think it is...but hey, a little diversion from the brimming storm is nice...especially when I do...*grins*...what I'm planning to do. _

* * *

_Now I know that there are others who have reviewed, but those are the last two I got for the prior chapter. Have no fear; if you review, I will reply in kind from this point on whether it be at the beginning of the next chapter, or through the inbox. :) I have a total of 20 reviews for this fic; I'm hoping to get a larger amount in the coming month._

_*Not holding my breath, but it would be nice. :)*  
_

* * *

**Part 6:**

Velma had done what she'd set out to do this morning in the middle of drinking her coffee. She'd grabbed her laptop as the others had begun to wake up and made her way out of the kitchen and towards the one room that seemed aglow with the misfortunes as of late. From what she'd observed over the last few hours, Googie wasn't giving them the vital piece of information that they needed to "help" her. Frankly, the less civil side of her wanted to send the girl back out there for not being honest. Thankfully that part didn't have much say in her morale, yet that wouldn't keep her from prying whatever she needed to know from Googie's mouth.

She'd all but ran up the stairs, anger and determination making it hard for the others not to know what she was about to do. Daphne, half asleep on the couch, called out to her. Velma looked over the banister and shook her head. She would not be deterred. Daphne could either come with or overhear, but Velma would not leave without what she needed. Something was oddly wrong with all of it. Things of that nature didn't just "show up" without a cause. A catalyst.

She'd been around this type of thing for far too long to believe otherwise now.

Her somewhat small but strong fist balled itself up to bang at the door. She'd only banged twice when it opened, her fist flying and stopping short of knocking Googie in the head. She was half tempted to keep knocking, but then an unconscious Googie did no one any favors.

Googie looked like death run over, hugging herself in nothing more than an oversized t-shirt. Velma realized that it belonged to Shaggy once, a fact that didn't make her feel any kinder about this. Faded blue eyes lined with dark circles, blotches of red from crying, and puffed from what Velma would assume to be allergies looked balefully at her, as if it would solve their little problem.

It wouldn't. Not if Velma had anything to say about it.

"Let's not pretend to be civil about this," Velma had said. "Right now I know you're sporting a pity party for yourself, and wondering what in the hell you've gotten yourself into. Do us a favor and get over it."

"What?"

"Look you, something doesn't add up about all this." Velma thrust her finger in her face, much like an adult in the face of a child when they were dead wrong. She thought Googie would be the brat to bite and run, but the blonde crumpled a bit. "You said they just showed up…" she said. "Why would they show up out of the blue? Why come after you?"

"I…I don't—"

"The hell if you don't know! There is always a reason behind crazy shit like this, and either you caused it in some manner or Shaggy did, and I doubt Shaggy had **anything** to do with it."

Googie bit her lip, the tears whelming in her eyes as that obvious guilt ate away at her from the inside. Velma was sure then. She was rarely wrong about these types of things. There was only one thing to do.

"What…did you **do**?"

And then it had all come spilling out like the river behind a broken dam. Velma had listened to it all, only to run and seat herself at the table frantically trying to find a way to fix it. The others ran over to her; Maggie, Shaggy, and Fred not amongst them because they were getting patched up at the hospital. She barely looked up, explaining tersely what she'd been told and not looking up to see the pale looks upon their faces. When she found the information…

Sometimes being good at finding the answers sucked.

It all boiled down to telling Shaggy…and she wasn't surprised to see him faint dead away from the news.

Velma eased herself from her seat on the couch, shutting her laptop as she watched Fred run to catch Shaggy. Fred managed to catch him before he smacked his head on the floor, worry and anger radiating off of him in waves. He didn't know the whole story. He couldn't know, and he probably wouldn't if Googie tried to explain it now. As it stood, no one was exactly pleased with her to know that she'd hidden this for this long. Fred was tense as he hefted Shaggy up. Sam was at his side, helping him to move Shaggy over to the couch. Velma watched them; unable to help physically, but information wise…she was good at that. Too good.

"I—"

"Googie…stuff it," Velma snapped lightly. "Just let me explain it, unless you want a fight on your hands."

"That's not necessary Velma," Fred said. He left Shaggy to Sam's care, not surprised to see the burly man arrange his son to rest his head on Angie's lap. The older woman was crying openly now, scared to death and tending to her son as if she'd never see him again. It hadn't gotten to that point. It had barely begun. She was allowed to feel that way though, and she made no apologies about it.

Fred, on the other hand, wasn't there yet. He stood up; ignoring the throb of his arms and the dulling affects of the medications he'd been given. He forgot about the stitches. The stark white of his dressings was a bit red now, blood whelming where he'd busted one or two of them. He didn't notice it, but the others did as he moved a step toward Googie.

She didn't move. She didn't quite dare, despite knowing that Fred would never lay a hand on her.

Fred rested a hand on Velma's shoulder, quietly telling her to sit. Velma complied, saying nothing to argue. If he wanted to hear it from her mouth, then by all means it was his choice.

"All right…explain it to me," he said to Googie. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, not able to voice herself at first. He gave her a moment to gather her wits. "Explain. Why are you here? And what does this have to do with Shaggy?"

"I…I had to…I had to fix it," Googie replied brokenly. "I-I…I never wanted it to be this way…"

"Never wanted what to be what way?"

There was no use in hiding it now. Velma knew…but she didn't know all of it. She'd relayed what she'd been told, but there was still a piece missing. There always was.

Googie wiped her face with the back of her hand. "…the real reason…I broke up with Shaggy…was because I did something to him…something he doesn't remember," she muttered. "Something that I wanted to take back…but I couldn't…"

"Something that hurt him, deeply," Fred surmised. "Correct?"

"Yes. He…he completely freaked out over it…and the nightmares just got worse…"

"…if you don't mind my asking…just what did you do?" Sam asked softly.

The underlying curiosity could not be mistaken, nor the silent protectiveness of a father looking out for his only son. Googie couldn't hide the shiver than went through her or the shame on her face. She didn't try. She'd been hiding it for so long; it was nearly release when she said it.

"We argued…we'd been arguing for a while…it was pretty bad that night…" It was barely a whisper, but they all heard it. She wasn't finished. Her cheeks were stained with embarrassment and tears, but that wasn't as bad as the stain in her heart. "We said some things…but…I was angry…and I grabbed the first thing I could…"

Fred widened his eyes. "You…you couldn't…have…"

"I didn't know it'd get that bad…I didn't mean to break it!"

The taller blonde in the room groaned quietly into his hands. Everyone was at a loss, until he said quietly, "She broke the dream catcher…"

Anyone who knew Shaggy knew he was prone to having some massive nightmares. It was something that he'd dealt with since he was young, before he'd come to know the others. While he loved to watch horror movies and knew that things that went bump were just his imagination, that overactive imagination kept him freaked out at night and up wondering about things he didn't need to think about. Getting into this business of theirs only amplified it…and Fred had also noticed that the nightmares were becoming a destructive tool in Shaggy's sleep patterns before he took off on his four year long hiatus.

The dream catcher was something he'd given to him a year prior to his leaving…a birthday gift, and a way to keep Shaggy in his own bed. Having Shaggy run over to his house in the middle of the night was draining on any growing teen, and one that silently harbored feelings for the skinny boy. Fred had seen an improvement in Shaggy after he'd given it to him, so he made it a ritual to get him one every year.

Breaking a dream catcher before it was filled was not a good sign to anyone of a superstitious nature. It was of no wonder that Shaggy freaked out…but that didn't explain what was happening now. Fred sought to ask her, but Googie beat him to the punch.

"I tried to get him another one…" she said. "He wouldn't take it. He said…it wasn't the same…"

"I buy them from an old friend of mine…a true Obijwa," Fred explained. "He says they're enchanted to protect the owner from bad dreams…and ensure good ones…he must not have been using them…"

Guilt was on her face again… "He…did use that one…"

"….ah hell, Googie…" …and now Fred knew the depth of her dislike for him.

"Look, that's beside the point right now. I…well, the nightmares came back…and they were bad. Really bad…and I thought…I thought maybe there was a way to take it all away…to just get rid of them. So…so I used a book we'd borrowed from…the count…when we turned him back from a werewolf."

"You used a book that came from Dracula?" Fred screamed. "Are you insane!"

"I was desperate! And how did you know about that?"

"Where's the book? What spell did you use?"

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Daphne cried. "What's this about a book from Count Dracula? And when did Shaggy turn into a werewolf?"

They hadn't gotten around to telling anyone about the misadventures of one Shaggy Rogers in his away time. Fred had only just found out about a good bit of it a month ago, and it was still a bit unbelievable. Being a werewolf was only the tip of a very long road.

"Shaggy will explain it to you when he's ready," Fred said. "For now, just listen…Dracula turned Shaggy into a werewolf a long while ago—"

"Not surprised about that," Sam mused. "Runs in the family according to legend…"

Fred wasn't going to even try and figure out what that meant. "—and apparently there's a way to change him into one without him getting bitten by a true Were. Regardless, he was cured after he, Scoob, Googie, and Scrappy managed to get away from him. Shaggy didn't know what happened to the book…but I'm guessing Googie probably kept it in case something happened…"

Googie nodded a bit. "I did. I figured…there might be something in there to help…take away the nightmares…"

"You dumb bimbo," Maggie snapped none too kindly, "don't you know that nothing good comes from a tome that comes from a vampire? Dracula no less? And if they're what Velma says, then WHY are you still alive?"

"Maggie!"

"What? Mom, it's an honest to god question…If they don't stop until their victim or their caller is killed, how did she survive for nearly a year without getting mauled like Fred did last night?"

"Because she probably has something protecting her," Velma said. Googie didn't say yea or nay. She held herself a little more, unwilling to look up at the people staring down her throat. "Something we can't see openly, but won't let them near her. Stop me if I'm wrong."

Like they expected, Googie was holding something of that description. She grasped the bow tied securely in her head, plucking it from her golden strands. They couldn't quite see the significance in such an object, until she said, "It was in the book…it was a ward for keeping those things away from your dreams…but they still follow you." She placed the object back in her head quickly. "They still come…they'll stop for a few days and come back stronger…I thought I had more time…"

"And making one for Shaggy will not solve the issue," Fred muttered.

Velma had been waiting for that conclusion. She'd been waiting for it, and dreading it. While she might have told them the consequences of those things being out and about, and the very immediate way for those things to die, there was always another way. "There are…two ways to solve this," she mentioned. All eyes fell on her, and hope blossomed for a brief moment. She hated that…it made her belly warm, and made her want to think of easier ways to make life better for everyone. "And I'm not talking about the ones I mentioned." The hope bubbled, and she held onto it, hoping she wouldn't disappoint them.

"And there's the life line," Fred said, smiling a bit. "How worn is the line this time?"

"Worn…and it may not be as pretty as dying…in fact, dying might be a mercy." Velma lowered her glasses, blinking slowly as the light of the room blurred everything without the use of her lenses. She looked over in the direction of her fainted friend, biting her lower lip. Sometimes hope was as painful as giving up. "From what I've gathered…what Googie did was unleash the nightmares that were trapped in Shaggy's head…and while it would make sense to put them back where they were pulled from…there are consequences."

"What are they?"

"Well…we could place them back in Shaggy's head…and hope he doesn't go insane from lack of sleep, or…we could face them like any other nightmare…with the very real possibility of dying."

Sam snorted into his open palm. "Sounds like a really bad movie."

"They always do Pop Rogers," Fred murmured. "They always do."

"I'll need to do more research on just what we'll be facing…this time," Velma sighed. "I trust you brought that book with you Googie. I'm going to need it."

For once, they were all breathing a sigh of relief when she nodded. Not having that book would have meant trouble. They spent enough of their lives in and out of it. Velma slipped her glasses back on and was all business, standing and marching past Googie, eventually grabbing the girl's arm in no uncertain means telling her to follow. Googie allowed herself to be dragged, not wanting to think about the thick tar of a mess they were in.

Daphne sank back into the seat she was in sighing miserably. Scooby dropped his head in her lap, whining softly. "How does this shit happen so often?" she grumbled tiredly. "Damn it…and this has to be over before the others decide to show up!"

The others; their parents, relatives, cousins, and friends…everyone who'd been invited for Thanksgiving were due to arrive by the end of the week. The first week was always for them and for whoever had the extra time. The second week…that week was always meant for their combined families coming together with cooking hands, a cheer section for the football game, and kids running about with the Danes that came along for the ride. Scooby thought about his own family, not quite as disgruntled as he had been at the thought of seeing Scrappy. He hoped they were in enough pieces to see that pup turned dog…annoying or not.

Sam grunted, slapping Fred gently on the back. "Come on son," he instructed, leaving no room for argument, "You and I should check the parameter. The girls will mind Shaggy."

Fred was no dummy, although he might have embraced the personality a bit much at times. Rather than back out like most males tended to do, he walked after the man…and silently hoped Sam didn't carry a gun. If he didn't know better…they were about to have...a **talk**.

* * *

"You know…right about now I wish you would have said something like you had his kid or something," Velma muttered loud enough for Googie to hear. She grabbed the book from the petite blonde's fingers, not at all surprised or amused to see that it was indeed a tome. Tomes in her experience were not nice things; not the kind of book she ever wanted to study, or look at even at a distance. The last tome she looked at belonged to a man who was very much regretting playing upon his heritage to gain some power. That didn't turn out well for anyone.

The book was old and worn, as she expected, but the pages looked like they'd been messed with by something else aside time and curious fingers. "Please tell me you haven't been digesting this," she said. Googie didn't reply. She really wasn't expecting her to, but that didn't stop Velma from propping her hands on her hips angrily. "Reading things like this always get you in trouble. You should know that by now!"

"I was looking for a way to reverse it!" Googie snapped. "I wasn't reading it for my health you know! Fat lot of good that did…"

"Tell me something I don't know. Well?"

"Well what?"

"Did you find anything useful so that I don't have to spend hours deciphering this thing?"

She was shaking her head a lot now, and Velma was none too pleased about it. She huffed and parked herself on Googie's unmade bed, not caring about the open look of protest on her face. "Sit down, close your mouth, and try not to read anything out loud." She handed her back the book. "I need you to locate that spell so I can try and figure out just what those things are."

"They're Shaggy's nightmares…you said so yourself."

"Yes, I'm well aware of what I said…but there's always more to the story. For instance, why are they incased in shadow and not taking the form of just what the nightmares are about? Another thing. Why did they claw at Shaggy once, and try to rip apart Fred when he snatched him out of the way?" Velma didn't stop to look back up at Googie. She hadn't thought of these things most likely, and thinking about them now probably made her more uneasy than she had been when she was just worrying about herself. The brunette opened her laptop and picked back up on her search, grateful that batteries ran longer than they used to. "You find that spell yet?"

"…you don't like me very much…do you?"

"Frankly…this isn't the time for that. If you must know, I'm more worried about what Fred will do to keep Shaggy safe."

Googie frowned, and this time Velma caught that out the corner of her eye. "Oh." It was soft spoken, but the volumes behind the quiet exclamation were heard. Velma recognized it for what it was and said nothing against it. That was a conversation for Googie and Fred.

If they lived long enough to have it.

* * *

They hadn't gone far. Fred and Sam walked a short distance from the cabin, the air crisp and autumn in full blossom; the leaves of color swirling to the grounds to be whisked away by the cool breeze. They wore their jackets, although neither man much cared to button or zip them. Fred did had a hat on his head, one that he thought about taking off when Sam stopped and turned to face him. He hadn't read him wrong when they walked out of the Cabin.

He knew that face. He'd seen it often enough on other fathers when they were giving the boyfriend the dressing down.

"Sir…"

Sam held up his hand. "No details. Just be truthful with me." He paused a half a second and said, "Fred…are you two intimate?"

The red that decorated his cheeks said it all and peeled a heartfelt laugh from Sam. He patted the poor man's shoulders, wiping his eye absently of the tears that began to form. "I'm sorry," he said in-between laughs, "But the look on your face! You probably thought something else, right?"

"I…might have…" Fred muttered.

"Oh come now…I just wanted you to lighten up a bit. It's not good to be so tense all the time, considering why." Sam patted his shoulder again, looking back at the Cabin. "It's not easy…knowing that someone you care for…might be in danger."

"No sir…it isn't."

"I'm glad you see that…because what I want to tell you, no one else really knows. Well, if they do admitting it would kill them."

Fred was curious now. He waited as Sam looked at him again, the hands on his shoulders firm and comforting all at once. The stance of a father entrusting something sacred to his son; it would be what they were had they been related. Fred searched his unreadable face, trying to gain some sense of what he would say. There was nothing there to give it away. It was all in his words when they finally came spilling out.

"My son…is truly special," he said. "You know it. I know it. He takes things to heart…and when he has something he treasures, he holds on for dear life. Taking something like that away…kills him. Every time. So…what I'm saying to you, Fredrick Jones…is that you'd better not let yourself get killed."

"…what?"

"You heard me. Don't DIE. Apart from Scooby ever succumbing to death from old age or something unfortunate god forbid, you are the person that grounds him to this earth. While I love Scooby more than anyone could ever possibly know…there are things even Scooby Doo can't do."

Sam grabbed his arms then, holding them up for Fred to see. "Let this…be the only thing," he said. "Do not leave him here…alone. All right? If you have to choose between running and fighting…RUN. Take him and run. LIVE. There's nothing worse…than knowing your loved ones are suffering because you died for a noble but senseless cause."

"Even if I wanted him to live? More than…anything?"

"Son…you only get one life. And I want my son…to have some stability. You're it."

Fred swallowed the huge lump in his throat. He hadn't thought about it in that sense…and thinking about it now made him realize how lost he'd be without Shaggy. He didn't want Shaggy to go through that pain, real or not. Sam waited this time. Fred found some way to nod and bowed his head. "I'll keep him safe."

"Good…because he's going to need you."

"Yes sir."

"So…shall I give you the rundown about dating my son now, or should that wait?"

A punch in the shoulder didn't keep Sam from laughing again. Fred scowled, but that morphed into a smile as bright as the sun above. Sam threw his arm around Fred's shoulders and walked him back to the cabin where Fred eventually broke away in order to jog towards the sight of an awake Shaggy waiting for him.

Angie, Maggie, Daphne, and Scooby watched from the porch as Shaggy forgot about them. He forgot about the cabin, the stairs, his father…everything. His sole focus was Fred reaching out to him, pulling him close and tucking him into his protective embrace. It was strange…they always imagined that Shaggy would keep the extra three inches over Fred. Seeing them now, they couldn't quite fight the bond lying out there in the open for all to see.

They did hear Fred though when Shaggy pulled away to tell him something, and they didn't blame him for what he said.

"Shaggy…don't you **dare** apologize. You _**didn't**_ do **this**. Someone loved you enough to try and make things better…and it didn't turn out right." He took Shaggy's thin hands into his own, pressed their foreheads together and said, "We are all human…and while sometimes that works against us…we are what we are. You're you…I'm me…and Googie is who she is. Everyone makes mistakes."

"Fred…"

"My mistake…was not claiming you earlier. Maybe then…perhaps we wouldn't be in this mess."

Guilt was a funny thing; it ran both ways and left no one untouched. It trickled wherever there was an inkling of sorrow and held on until there was nothing left but the overwhelming trench it crafted over time. Fred knew too well of the feelings flooding through his hippie. He felt them too, keenly. It hurt a little more than anything he could have endured, and left him breathless when he realized just how dangerous this was.

Not the shadows, or nightmares, or whatever the hell those things were. No. His heart knew love…and he knew that no matter what should happen, he'd never be the same if Shaggy wasn't with him.

Shaggy closed the inch between them, listening to the winds. Perhaps was a word used often, but held little meaning to him. They had this. They had now. They had days ahead of them, years even. He wouldn't let this go. He couldn't.

Fred pulled away gently, his fingers reaching up to trace the soft stubble of Shaggy's goatee. "Perhaps," he whispered. "Maybe. Who knows? Who cares? I'm yours as much as you are mine…and sometimes that's enough to keep the nightmares away."

More than Fred ever realized. Shaggy hugged him tight and wasn't surprised when Scooby came around to hug them, wailing like the sap he tended to be. They laughed….until Sam's catcalls had them blushing all over again.

"Poooop~!"

* * *

Woo...a little sappy there at the end.

*dabs her eyes* Allergies damn it. *sniffles* Aw hell, who am I kidding?

More soon! :) If you like it, review! If you hate it, well, no one wants to know. :D *skips off to find something to burn*


	7. Stories and Family

**AN:**

_My sincerest apologies for everyone who's been waiting for this fic to continue. It's been a long while, but while I haven't updated this one, I have been busy updating others and revising some other fics in my library. With that and some personal workings, it's been hard to keep up._

_Nevertheless, I have returned to grant you another chapter, and hopefully will continue to do so! :) Please enjoy, and a review would be nice._

_Oh, and please don't scream at me about the end. It's going somewhere, and Scooby is a special dog. :)_

* * *

**Part 7:**

"Mmm…Fred…please…."

"Please?"

"Like…don't make me beg. Can I have it?"

"I suppose..."

"Aah! YES!"

Anyone who didn't know them would have sworn they were doing something naughty. Googie certainly thought so, turning abruptly around to head back into the kitchen with her eyes averted. Velma wasn't as prude, and ducked her head into the den to see just what was going on.

What she saw had her laughing.

Shaggy was lounging on the rug by the fire, head resting against Fred shoulders with his eyes closed in bliss. Fred was smiling down at him; laughing a bit as Shaggy leaned further into him, grateful for the treat he'd been given. The wrappers on the floor were a dead giveaway.

Fred had brought Shaggy's favorite candy with them.

It was a good way to keep Shaggy's mind off of the inevitable. They still had their little problem to deal with, unknowing of when or if that problem would strike again. From what she had managed to gather from Googie between bouts of her spacing out and mumbling to herself, there was no distinct pattern of play as far as these nightmares went. According to her, they just appeared out of nowhere, and knowing Googie, the variables at play were too vast to pinpoint any type of starting point to proceed from. She might have felt sorry for the girl, but the damage to her friends was too great for her to easily be swayed by a sad pout and the guilt cloud that permeated from her frame every time she walked by those two.

She needed to feel guilty. Guilty was the founding point of becoming someone different for the sake of one's self loathing or for saving face. It was the building block in making different choices, and usually they were for the better. The girl had her chance. She didn't know how to take Shaggy as he was and appreciate him for his spirit and his heart. She couldn't know. Walking into his life and becoming that light tended to blind people, and she'd been blinded by her own delusions of a happy settled life with a laid back kind of guy.

Why didn't people realize that dreams conjured by one heart usually were only meant to be fantasy?

"You're doing that thing again." Velma turned her thoughtful look to Daphne, who stood beside her and stared at the two men in their lives. Shaggy was practically purring, and Fred was all but too happy to keep him like that. But the picture was marred. Those bandages weren't supposed to be there. The somber nature of Fred's hand falling on Shaggy's cheek had no place in a picture of happiness. Shaggy's gentle but worried smile masking the tears that wanted to fall. Daphne shook her head at it and turned away before her eyes could sting anymore than they did right then.

"You see it too?" Velma asked quietly.

"It's as real as the inner monologue in your head," she quipped. "I just…I wish it wasn't like **this**…you know?"

"We can fix it." How? Velma could not be sure. But they had gone through the runs of some off the wall things and come out just as cut up as they were now. "We'll find a way to do something to fix this, and then this picture will change."

Shaggy curled into the firm embrace of his human shield, his head upon his shoulder and staring into the fire. Scooby, his rock in life, wandered over, plopping down in front of the twosome and whined softly as Fred's hand fell on his muzzle. The weight of it all was burdensome, troubling them even in the picture of happiness that they portrayed to those who couldn't know what lie under their eyes or in their hearts. Fred feared for Shaggy's life, Shaggy was scared to death of losing Fred, and Scooby…the Great Dane wanted everyone to stop hurting.

That picture had Velma adjusting her glasses on her face, grim determination set in her sharp gaze. She would find a way to get them out of this.

There was a sharp knock on the door. Every head within the vicinity popped up from whatever was going on in front of it, people popping up just as quick to survey the door that had disturbed their silence. It was evening, therefore the worst popped into mind before the logic could surface, everyone tense and unsure of what caused that knock. It could have been an acorn or something else, but they knew better, especially when the knock cam again, this time a little more insistently. Fred was on his feet and urging Shaggy to remain where he was, running to grab a poker and meet up with Pop Roger already aiming for the door with a bat in hand. They weren't about to be caught off guard again.

Velma looked back at Googie standing at a distance behind her and Daphne. The fear in the girl's eyes wasn't present. It couldn't have been those things…

But then, who was it?

Sam grabbed the doorknob, jarring it open before the knock could come again. He and Fred were ready and willing to do damage, at least until recognition hit Fred's eyes and complete shock as well. He put a hand on Sam's shoulder and eased the man back. "It's all right, I know her." he explained. "Although…I'm not sure why she's here? Sibella?"

The pale looking teen with violet eyes fluttered them prettily at the two men. "I'm here because someone texted me about a certain tome that went missing a while back," she answered. She held up the phone to convey her proof, though there was no need. Shaggy was in their midst a moment later and had the girl's sympathy ten times over when she got an honest to god look at him. "I wasn't sure where to go, but the Shaggy's scent is unique…so I recruited Winifred to help me out." The wolf teen popped up behind her, wary but glad to see them. "Is it all right if we come in?"

Fred nodded and made the motions to do so, revealing the bandages on his arms. Sibella was on him in an instant, grabbing his arms and hissing to herself at the damage that was done and could have been. Winifred kept her distance, but her eyes said it all. She knew something had happened, that something evil had been in their presence and its smell was still all over the place. She covered her nose with apologies, but there was no need. Fred shook his head and turned to bring Shaggy flush against him.

"So…you want to introduce us?" Sam asked. "I do believe these two…are not your average girls if they know about that tome correct?"

"You're right, they aren't," Shaggy said, "but they are very special girls. They won't harm us pop."

"I know son. If you were frightened in any way, they would not be here. I think I know my son well enough to know his habits by now, yeah?"

Shaggy blushed a bit, but smiled anyhow. His father patted his shoulder and motioned for everyone to follow. They did so, coming into the living room where the others were waiting. Daphne and Velma blinked in surprise at the girls that came through, clearly having no knowledge of who they were or why they were here. Googie, on the other hand, spied Sibella with some suspicion, a certain woman that belonged to a certain vampire coming to mind when she laid eyes on her. Sibella in turn glared her way, not amused at being appraised by someone she didn't know. It was one thing to be curious, and it was another much more offensive matter to be held in suspicion. The girl was human, and by rights she had been invited in, which made her a virtual meal.

Shaggy's gentle hand on her shoulder kept Sibella from voicing the thoughts on her face. "Like, let's not have a blood bath right now, all right?"

"If you insist…"

"Blood bath?" Maggie questioned. "What's with the deferential reference to such a horrid event?"

"Not that we're broadcasting it, but there is a reason for it, and Googie, like, **stop** staring at her before I turn my head and she has you for an appetizer!" Shaggy warned. He was still feeling more than a little mean for himself, and not one lick of remorse was shown when Googie stepped backward in plain shock. The others were a little more than amazed at the sudden turn around, though it could be blamed on the recent stress factors in their lives. Shaggy rubbed his head tiredly, leaning into Fred when he tightened his grip on his waist. It was all very tiring, though he dared not sleep.

"Gang, this is Sibella and Winfred," Shaggy explained. "They are two girls from the finishing school I worked for a while back. I was their gym teacher."

"Oh? Are you two out here for a visit?" Angie asked.

"Not quite mom. You see, after I got the specifics from Velma about that book, I called Sibella. Sibella is Dracula's daughter…and I figured she could help us if not Dracula himself."

"Unfortunately, Daddy is tied up with some unfortunate business between warring clans," Sibella sighed. She ignored the soft gasp from Googie, focusing her gaze on the curious one with the glasses. "As the Elder, and with his standing fame and status, he has to remain where he is until things are settled. He sent me instead. I'm to retrieve the tome and decipher just what was unleashed in from its pages."

"Unleashed?" Velma cried. "You mean that there are things bound into the pages? Like honest to goodness for real monsters and fae!"

Sibella couldn't help but smile at the girl. She was quite bright for someone who didn't hear but so much in a short amount of time. She was good at reading between the lines, which was a bonus considering that they couldn't speak but so much about the fae without drawing attention. "I take it that you've looked through the book?"

Looking through it wasn't even the half of it. Velma couldn't believe half of what she read, and the fact that Googie had carelessly read from that tome without thinking about the repercussions of just what may or may not lie within it; it made her blood boil all over again and had Sibella baring her fangs in amusement. It only served t o remind her of what Shaggy said, which in turn caused her to fluster a bit when she saw those fangs grinning. "Wait, he said you were Dracula's daughter…oh my god, Dracula is actually real?"

"You should know better than anyone that what appears to be may not be, and what may not be is," Sibella said. "You have that type of spirit about you, the one who seeks answers but knows when to keep her foot out of unknown and dangerous affairs."

"Unless it concerns my friends," Velma corrected. "Then I don't care how dangerous it is. I only want them safe and sound, unhurt and happy…and there for me when I moan about my life."

"Not that there's much to moan about," Daphne giggled. Velma elbowed her softly in her side. "What? The only thing missing from your life is someone to settle down with and rampant kids that **destroy** books."

"Which is enough of a birth control method for me."

"See? Nothing to complain about!"

The light joking banter of the two girls did its job and lifted some of the tension from the room. Angie, always one to go with the flow of things, ushered the two girls to the couch before running into the kitchen to make them something to drink. Of course she thought twice about it when she remembered Sibella was a vampire, which only caused the violet haired teen to laugh quite a bit when Angie asked if she drank anything aside the obvious. Sibella waved her off, having no need to feed or devour anything of refreshment. She'd taken care of that on the way here, thanks to some creep who thought it was nice to sneak up on teenage girls.

Shaggy caught the look in her eye and sighed inwardly. "Like tell me you left whoever it was where someone could find him."

Sibella smiled serenely at him. "Mr. Mitchell is safe and sound in front of the local police building," she assured. "I made sure he was where everyone could see him…without his clothing."

"And believe me, it was work not to let her do more than that," Winifred muttered, "not that the jerk didn't have it coming."

He decided not to ask. The girls tended to keep to themselves unless provoked, and only then did things take a turn for the worse for those who were involved. The Calloway Cadets could testify to that. "Where's Elsa?"

"She had to recharge," Sibella said. "And magic like this is not without strange effects."

"You're saying that because of her nature and the way she was made, she may like, be affected somehow in a way that's not so nice, right?"

"Right."

"Who's Elsa?" Daphne asked.

Shaggy smiled a little as he sat down with Fred. "She's Frankenstein's Daughter."

Daphne briefly thought about opening the wine bottle meant for their thanksgiving meal in a week. If she opened it, it would be gone and she would probably be calmer than she was right now. It was bad enough when she discovered the realities of voodoo and that actual honest to god zombies could exist, but now the supernatural world was announcing itself in her cabin, as if they'd always been there in the presence of their group. The whole issue with those ghosts was something for her and Shaggy to share amongst themselves, but this shoved Shaggy into a whole new light she hadn't ever thought would be upon the tender hearted man.

"It was while I was away from you guys," Shaggy said before anyone could ask. Fred had heard the story already, well aware of how difficult it was for his lover to openly talk about it without trembling shy of being confused for having a seizure. He kept his arm around him, his free hand clasping the shaking one of Shaggy's and kissing the back of it. "It's…a long story."

It wasn't quite that long of a story, but it was long enough for them to reevaluate just what they knew about their residential hippie and what he would do for the sake of those he cared about. He told them the story of the Grimwood finishing school, the witch Repulsa, and what she wanted to do overall to the offspring of the most famous monsters of the world. He told them about how he had decided not to stay for the next semester and wound up trekking his way back here into the waiting arms of Googie who was now staring at him with tear filled eyes.

He told them about the run in with Dracula, and how he was chosen to be a werewolf. Sam actually grunted at that, scratching his chin thoughtfully and leaning into his story, saying that it wasn't truly a surprise once again. He had mentioned it earlier in the week, saying that it tended to run in the family. So it really was of no surprised when Velma latched onto that, asking in earnest just what all Sam knew about the Rodger background. Maybe there was some clue in the lineage. There was nothing worth not looking at. Everything and anything could have answer inside.

Sam grunted again, though this time it was in slight amusement. "Our family tends to be drawn into the strange world of mystery whether we want to or not," he said. He shifted back in his seat a bit, is countenance aging a bit with only a breath, the air around him thickening with something one couldn't clearly place their finger on. Shaggy moved closer to Fred, unsure of what he would hear and fearing it as much as he wanted to know what his father meant. Scooby, on the other hand, lifted his worn self from where he lay. He trekked over to where Sam sat in the recliner, sitting heavily before him one moment and sitting ramrod the next. Sam smiled sideways and gently patted the Great Dane's head. "We cannot help who we are, and we cannot help what attracts them to us. It is in our blood, as much as life is within all."

"Why do I have the off feeling that you're going to say or do something that will freak us all out?" Daphne asked.

"Because you're right. Although, showing you is not something I can do. Telling you, however, is allowed." He paused to scratch Scooby's head once more, smiling a little more as the dog snorted openly and scooted closer with a paw on his lap. "It's something the males in our family have dealt with for a very long time...an inexplicable tendency to draw chaos where there is none. Some say it's a curse. Others say it's a gift. Whatever it is, the denominator is the same. We always have a Doo at our side."

"A Doo? You mean Scooby's family?" Velma questioned. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"That Scooby Doo comes from a line of dogs that are not normal Great Danes? Yeah. I am. Honestly, have you ever seen a dog honest to god talk before? It never really bothered you, did it?"

The gang shook their heads tentatively, as if realizing it for the first time. Shaggy was the only one who didn't. He'd known Scooby since he was little. Scooby talking to him was like breathing. It came natural. When he didn't have anyone to be with, Scooby was always there, joking with him, eating as much if not more than him, and conveying the proper coward that lived in him right alongside Shaggy. Truly a boy's best friend even after he'd become a man. Even so, it was a little odd at just how human like Scooby could be at times. Almost in a cartoonish way, Scooby integrated himself into their worlds by being himself and bringing them together in a fashion that no ordinary dog could do. Shaggy was the one to realize that they might not even be here if it weren't for Scooby, and he clung a little tighter to Fred, unable to imagine not having Scooby or Fred in his life.

Fred, regarding the Great Dane in another light, asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "Just how special is Scooby anyhow? I mean he's special in a way we couldn't begin to tell, but…just what do you mean when you say you've always had a Doo at your side?"

Sam sighed heavily. His fingers kept scratching the back of Scooby's head. "It's been said that a long time ago, that my ancestor and his dog, a Great Dane that was bred by a man with the last name Doo had an encounter that changed their lives." Scooby leaned further into his touch, as if to comfort the man rather than enjoying the good scratch Sam meant to give. "Thomas Doo was a strange man who bred nothing but Great Danes. His Danes were prized dogs, but they came with a hefty price. Most people could not afford them. Others tried to steal them. Most who wronged him found themselves the victims of their own misfortunes and nothing could right them."

"This of course being legend, right?" Velma asked.

"Right, but then…some things are stranger than they are told to be. Or so it says in the journal belonging to my ancestor. My ancestor, Sherman Rodgers, was a peddler trying to make an honest buck. He was a coward in every sense of the word, running at the first sign of trouble and avoiding it if there looked to be some. He was a kind man and usually did favors for nothing if the need was great enough. He made his living honestly but his courage was what kept him from being more than what he wanted.

"One day, a pair of thieves had managed to do the one thing no one dared. They had stolen the latest batch of puppies Thomas Doo had bred and were off to sell them. Thomas was furious. He chased after them with his trusted Great Dane and the father of those pups, Fenrir Doo, and cornered them in the little town my ancestor was working in.

"Sherman saw the commotion as it unfolded. He started to run, to avoid getting mixed up in business that wasn't his own. Something stopped him. No one knows what it was, but it was said that when he heard the cries of those puppies in the bag, he forgot about his cowardice and leapt into the path of the thieves. They collided horribly, the collision knocking Sherman on his back and breaking his hand in the process. The thieves lost hold of the bag the puppies were in. Fenrir snatched the bag before they could confiscate it and Thomas was on them before they could turn their anger on Sherman.

"Once the commotion died, the thieves were taken away to be imprisoned. It was a victory that was spoiled by the tragedy that was discovered once Thomas retrieved the bag from his dog. The puppies had been saved, but three of the four puppies in there had died when the thieves had carelessly tossed them in the burlap sack. The one that was left alive was badly injured and would not sell as Thomas had hoped."

"Those poor puppies…" Daphne cried softly. "They didn't deserve that."

"No…they didn't. Thomas felt that Sherman, a man who didn't have much to his name, didn't deserve to be left without care for his valiant but unusual efforts. He took Sherman, the puppy that was left, and his dog Fenrir back to his farm. Once there he dressed Sherman's hand and allowed him to stay as long as he felt the need. Sherman thought it would be rude to run before the day was over, so he stayed and wandered the farm, unaware of who Thomas really was.

"His wandering eventually led him to a room where Thomas had placed the injured puppy. Fenrir was there as well, but the Great Dane was more concerned with the health of his last pup than why Sherman was there. Sherman wasn't good at much. He wasn't a grand master of anything or pretended to be. However, he was kind hearted and he lent his kindness and concern to the puppy as it fought to overcome its injuries.

"Thomas, having stepped out to gather some things, wandered back into the room to see Sherman speaking to the puppy as if it were human. Fenrir was watching Sherman, still concerned but at ease. It's mentioned that when Sherman turned his attention to Fenrir and petted his head without being bitten, Thomas Doo lost his heart."

There was a little more to it than that, but the generalized version was going to have to do. Sam, while he appreciated his heritage, could not bring himself to quote the embarrassingly long love letters he'd glimpsed when he'd discovered all of this as a young man. His grandfather had been quite smitten with the history and with his cheeks when they reddened in the same manner as they did now. "Long story shortened, Thomas wooed my ancestor into living with him, and eventually taught him about his dogs. Their friendship became more than that, as mentioned in his journals," Sam said. "In later entries, they'd come to adopt three children belonging to Sherman's sister. I believe the tradition and the strangeness began when the eldest one, Simon Rodgers, had come of age."

"Tradition?" Shaggy asked. "Like…you mean the one where I got Scooby?"

"Yep. That one. The oldest child is given a dog, a Great Dane with the last name Doo. Simon was of age when he was given his dog, Setter Doo, and set out on his journey to make a name for himself. As he wandered from town to town with his dog, he made many friends. He also had a penchant for getting into trouble much like his Uncle. It was of no fault of his own…he just stumbled into it and usually wound up uncovering some strange things when the madness was over.

"When Simon sent Sherman letters of his travels, Thomas decided that it was time to tell Sherman the truth. His dogs were not ordinary dogs. He was not an ordinary man. He was fae…and his dogs were bred to attract trouble and get rid of it by any means possible. Whoever was the owner of these dogs would be protected from all harm and would never see sadness long; however the 'price' so highly thought to be money was a peaceful uneventful life."

"Whoa…I bet Sherman wasn't expecting that," Maggie said.

"No…and for the most part he wasn't upset by it. Living one's life dully was a way to keep one's self from doing what they were meant to do. In giving these dogs to those who were of blood or willing to pay that price, they learned much about the world, how it worked, and gained many friends and much family. It became a tradition that has come down to this family…and having Scooby's father was probably the most exciting time of my life. I miss that old dog."

Scooby whined softly and put his head in Sam's lap. It wasn't that long ago when his father passed away, though it was from old age and nothing more. It was his time to go. Sam had taken it quite hard, as did the rest of the family, but Shaggy had been nearly inconsolable, clinging to Scooby as if it were he to die. Death never really hit someone until it hit close to home. It was around that time that Shaggy had decided to leave Coolsville…

"Well, anyhow," Sam sighed, "The name and the legacy behind Doo is still alive today. The line has thinned out some, but within every batch of Great Danes there's one or two that stand out the most. The farm that Scooby and his entire family were born from is the same farm that Thomas and Sherman ran in the past, and Scooby is the one out of the batch that stands out the most…aside Yabba that is."

Scooby snickered and walked over to Shaggy staring at him as if he'd known this all his life. He knew Scooby was special. He just didn't know how special. Regardless, Scooby butted his head against his arm in apology; sorry that his nature was the reason Shaggy happened to find so much trouble. He was a special dog, but one that was designed to make sure trouble followed him and stayed away from the ones that mattered most.

Unfortunately this amount of trouble was brought in by a secondary party, and while he could help, he couldn't draw it away from Shaggy like before. They were his nightmares brought to life, and there was nothing worse in the world to face than one's deepest fears. They could consist of anything and do what most nightmares thought to be justification in the darkness. They could kill. Fred's arms were a warning of what was to be if those things got their way.

"So…Scooby's bloodline is enchanted to draw trouble…and get rid of it?" Daphne asked. "But…Scooby's a big chicken! No offense Scoob."

"None taken," he said, clearly and not with his usual rumble. The shock was enough to render them speechless and had Sam laughing soundly in his seat. "…was it something I said?"

"Scooby…y-you…y-you just…"

Scooby shook his massive head at the lot of them. He might have been a dog but he understood a lot more than they thought. "All I did was remove the barrier that makes me indistinctive to your ears." Velma was enraptured by this, and he couldn't quite keep his amusement of the matter to himself. "I can't do it that often, but the fact is that Sam's revealed my nature and I'm allowed to show you what he means. Sam knows because my father did it to him, and Shaggy knows because he understands me without the barrier."

"Wait…you mean you actually **understand** Scooby, Shaggy?" Velma questioned, rounding her gaze on him. Their residential hippie shrugged. "I thought it was some kind of thing only dog owners had…"

"I've always understood Scoob." Shaggy reached out and rubbed his head, chuckling when the Great Dane pushed his cold nose against him. "He's always understood me. Scoob's my pal. He's always, like, been there…like a blanket you never forget or want to get rid of." Scooby licked him for this. "I love Scoob. He's one of the best things in my life…he brought me you guys…and with Freddy, I feel like this circle's been complete somehow. Like it all makes sense…"

This time Fred kissed him, not caring who was watching or who was gasping. The sniffle got him to stop before he ran away with his emotions and really showed Shaggy just how much he loved him. Sibella sniffed again, grabbing the handkerchief Daphne handed her and dabbing her eyes with it. "Sorry," she sniffled. "But I'm a sucker for romance. That's possibly the sweetest thing I've heard in a long time."

"Yeah…too bad something like this has to mess it up," Winifred muttered. "Whatever was unleashed from those pages isn't going to stop…they've left their mark…and it'll be back to finish the job."

"Which brings us to question just WHAT you managed to unleash, my dear." Sibella's eyes were long since dry and staring hard at the blonde that wasn't the object of Shaggy's affection. Googie trembled at her gaze, reminded of her father and those fangs and just what lurked in the dark when no one was looking. "Humans aren't supposed to hold books that have no value to them. If you don't understand what you're holding, then you run the risk of doing more harm than good. So, tell me…what were you trying to do?"

"I…I was trying to get rid of…Shaggy's nightmares." There was no reason to lie now. Someone would have said it regardless if what she did or said otherwise. "I had…broken his dream catcher…during a fight we had. He was…having really bad nightmares…the type you wake up screaming from…"

"So you thought the book would help him?"

"It turned him back from being a werewolf."

"It undid the magic that allowed him to harbor that gift," Winifred growled. "The fact that he could turn into a functioning werewolf without being bitten and not lose sense of himself like most humans tend to do means that he has magic within his blood. Dream catchers are not toys. Breaking them before they are ready to shatter on their own is asking for trouble!"

"Easy Winifred," Sibella said. "Don't ruffle your fur yet. The night's not over…and I do believe that we have someone who will do nicely for what needs to be done."

Googie didn't think her blood would ever freeze the way it did when they looked at her. "W-what…what are you talking about?"

"We're talking about getting a better look at what you may have unleashed in its true form…and the best way to do that," Sibella smirked, her fangs gleaming in the dim lighting of the room, "Is to use the one who summoned them as bait."

* * *

And end scene!

Why did I make Scooby understandable? Why not? His relatives are.

No, we shall not speak of Scrappy. Ever.

Anyhow, I felt Scoob should have a short say, and some kind of mysterious family background that makes people blink. Did it work? Anyhow, reviews are nice. :)


	8. Potions, Magic, and Talking

_All right, I'm updating again. Sorry folks but I've been in school non-stop and it tends to keep me from updating these things. I will finish it...eventually._

_For now, I have a slight confession to make._

_I know I said I would never speak of Scrappy ever...and I won't...but not as the puppy you know. I've decided to use him, but he's different in this series._

_I suppose another thing to mention would be the ages of everyone. Everyone with the exception of Sam and Angie Rogers (Wendy for the original and Paula for Mystery Inc.), is in their mid twenties. Shaggy is still marginally taller, but Fred had a small growth spurt and is about the same height as Shaggy. Scooby is not as young as he used to be, which is mentioned every now and again. _

_I still don't like Googie. I just can't. I'm really not trying to be too mean but the chick doesn't seem to get it sometimes._

_I do have a favor to ask...I know people don't write these two (fred/shaggy) often, but if anyone can find a decent fic with them as stars and is not too badly written, it'd be appreciated._

_Anyhow, onward!_

* * *

Part 8:

It was times like these where he wished the world of JK Rowling wasn't something out of a wayward book. Sitting here looking at the many tomes and the ingredients that Sibella was laying out on the table, he wondered if the elaborate _Severus Snape_ wouldn't have had something to say about all this. He'd probably be long winded, proper and scathing all in the same breath, but he would have had an answer and possibly a dangerous way to solve all their issues. Potter probably would have held his suspicious nature of the half-blood prince, but in essence the boy was good for reckless endeavors and plans gone wonky. Despite their abhorrence of one another, had they worked together with some understanding and without the misconception of past and present, he was sure they might have made decent friends before blowing the world up.

He said as much and had the vampire princess laughing helplessly in her seat moments later. Winifred lifted her right lip in what appeared to be a sneer, but she outright snorted and smirked at Shaggy wondering what he'd said that was so funny. "Remus Lupin is my Uncle," she explained, much to Shaggy's slight disbelief. "JK Rowling wasn't too far off the mark about some of it, but enough of it was blurred enough to keep mortals from guessing about the nature of werewolves."

"If you want to thank someone for annoyances, blame Stephanie Meyer for her twilight series," Sibella huffed. "Don't get me wrong, I love the story, but I do believe that humans have a healthy misconception about vampires now. I don't think we're all going to fall in love with some teenager that wanders into our sights and fawns over our good looks."

"And werewolves aren't soft spoken timid creatures on a potion that keeps us from going nuts," Winifred said with a shake of her head. "I'm sure you're aware of that…and I'm pretty sure you know why fiction is fiction."

Shaggy did have some understanding about all of it, but the one to put it to words best was Velma when she said, "A lie within a lie is truth hidden inside but thought a lie because it was spoken a lie." Shaggy smiled at her and wondered if her prince charming was off somewhere sleeping the day away rather than looking for the brown haired woman that Velma had become. She was still the same old Velma in his eyes, but she'd grown so much in the years that had passed them by with and without the other. She was elbows deep in the books that kept popping in courtesy of Sibella and mirror currently spitting another book out.

She thanked the mirror and blew the dust off of the old tome, grinning a bit at the title. "As for the realm of wizard and potions," she said turning the book over for them to see, "it's quite palpable. People such as Severus Tobias Snape are well respected in their craft and happily married to scrawny boys turned men and living their lives as other people." The look on their faces was enough to warrant another laugh out of her. "If we were to tell you just how much truth was out there, I doubt the world would be a fun place for humans to live."

"Very true," Velma b agreed. She took the book from Sibella, awing the fact that it was indeed a potions book with the author's name to be S.T. Snape on the cover of it. Velma often wondered if such a world existed, and she often wondered what she would do if she was introduced to that world. Oddly enough, she wasn't screaming in excitement. She was filled with curiosity and dread, and worry when she thought about why all these books were here alongside all these ingredients for a brew of some kind.

Fred and Daphne popped in just as the mirror announced that there was nothing more to send. Sibella dismissed the mirror with a word of thanks, turning back to the pile of books and the others that piled into the dining room with different items in hand. Fred had the shirt Sibella has asked him to find; an old shirt that Shaggy was known to have on him at all times in case something strange happened. That green t-shirt he was known to wear was a like a good luck charm of sorts and Scooby had sniffed it out with ease. Sibella smiled at it, though her fleeing memories of childhood were filled with this shirt being the last she saw of Shaggy for a while. His days with them were filled with a red shirt and blue jeans; the out of character signature strange upon his person as was that puppy that was too exuberant for words. This was much more fitting and would do nicely enough.

Daphne held a ken doll in her hands. It was something she had to dig out of the attic, unsure if one of these were even around after being buried for so long. Youthful days here were filled with running about and playing with dolls, and a good bit of those memories were still up above waiting to be pulled out again. She'd stumbled upon the doll by accident, tripping over some boxes that were full of things that belonged to them all when they were kids. She'd thought about bringing that down with the doll but decided against it. They could look at that stuff later when this was all over. For now she handed it over alongside the orange ascot Fred had leant her forever when he decided that it no longer needed to be a part of his ensemble.

"All right…we have signature pieces from two people," Sibella mused. "We have Shaggy's shirt and Fred's ascot as well as his likeness."

"A Ken doll? Really?"

Sibella tried not to laugh too much. "You do fit the bill for the prototype of the dashing male figure Frederick Jones. It really is a flattering trait for someone with a heart like yours."

Fred wasn't sure if he should be insulted or not. He decided not to be, leaning into the soft kiss Shaggy gave him a moment later. "Okay then…so, what else do you need?"

"Not what else…who else." Winifred and Sibella looked sideways and stared down the girl that shivered uncontrollably when they spotted her. Googie tried her best to hide behind whatever was available, but Sam was a moving man and the walls didn't do much to hide her hyperventilated breathing. She still couldn't quite grasp that these people were indeed here, that a mirror had started spitting out books, and that she was needed for the last thing on this planet that she wanted to do.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and came forward when Sibella motioned for her to do so. "A-are you sure…t-that…this is the **only** way?" She practically pleaded for the vampire to say that there was another way, that she didn't have to do this, but Sibella wasn't going to jump up and scream "psyche!" anytime soon. She simply pointed to the tome that had started this and said nothing.

"You opened the book, you undo the damage," Daphne supplied needlessly. The blonde girl made a noise of distress and disgust, fueling the fire of Daphne's satisfied smirk twitching at the corner of her mouth. "You've been around the block long enough to know that it's the only way that works best."

"Like, what do we need all this stuff for anyhow?" Shaggy asked. "And what does she have to do with it?"

"Well, this book is the type that uses the essence of the conjurer to create the magic that is necessary to allow the spells to exist," Sibella explained. "Unlike other books that require a bit of your soul, or all of it, or a portion of blood…this one feeds off of the desires of the conjurer. One's desire has to be strong in order to accomplish spells of this nature."

Shaggy and Fred looked at one another. "Like, you're messing with us, right?"

"Somewhat." Sibella smiled at them, huffing a little when they didn't laugh with her. "It sounded cooler anyhow. But seriously, we do need the person who spoke the spell. They are tied with whatever was unleashed. Depending on what it was, it can't be undone without the caster."

"We don't know what that something is," Winifred sighed. "Its smell is too indistinct…we have to draw it out and do that, we have to use the things that it's attracted to."

"That means using the caster and representations of who was a target intentionally and accidentally." The vampire teen looked at Fred's arms, still a little disgusted by the scent of those injuries and the hidden pain in Fred's eyes. It shouldn't have been there, and Shaggy shouldn't have been trying to be the strong one in all this. His kind was special in this world…they were meant to be treasured and protected from things like this. She looked away and back at the book, wanting to blame it for all this.

"The Ken doll is a medium for Fred," she said. "He is the protector; the one who has placed himself between the caster and the target. I wrap his scarf around it with a spell and it will become a living dummy. Shaggy's shirt will be used in a similar fashion, only I'll use it to conjure an afterimage real enough to draw that thing out."

"Okay…but what about Googie?" Velma asked. Sibella waited a heartbeat. Velma blinked and almost reeled at the sudden thought that rushed to her mind. "Oh my god, you're not going to use her as live bait, are you?!"

"Just long enough to see what it is that's been conjured up," Winifred assured. "Sibella and I will be out there as well, and the dummy will protect anyone that it's supposed to. It'll probably stall it long enough for us to get a good look at it. Once we know what it is, we can proceed from there."

"Don't worry about the girl." Sibella waved her hand dismissively at the pensive looks she was getting from the lot of them. "This is why I have the potions book. I need to brew some select potions in case something goes wrong. Particularly a blood replenishing potion...I don't exactly like being without a source nearby."

Her worries were for naught. No sooner had she said something had Daphne moved forward and placed herself in the vampire's sight. "Can you use that potion on someone living?"

"It's what it was designed for, though it does have its benefits for vampires in a bind. Why?"

"Rather than do that, can't you use me for a source? If…you promise not to drain me dry that is."

The girl was mad. That had to be it. Sibella stared at her long and hard, wondering just what type of person would willingly offer themselves to a vampire as a source of replenishment. Surely not someone completely sane, knowing what could befall them if that vampire wasn't honest in their word. Some lied to get their meals while others ruthlessly killed, and the rest caressed their meals into liaisons that left their partners satisfied, enthralled, or dead.

Then there was the other side…the more intimate side of taking one's blood. Sibella was no stranger to taking blood from a woman, but no woman had actually offered themselves without being enchanted. It was rather odd, disconcerting to say the least, more so when Daphne pressed herself into her personal space and said, "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Will you use me as a source?" She smiled to disarm her slight nervousness and to convince Sibella further of her seriousness. "I'm blood type O…and it's better than having to control yourself in case you're really hurt. I think we've seen enough blood…"

Sibella still didn't understand. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you willingly offer yourself to me knowing that I may or may not kill you to save myself? You don't know me…you know nothing about me."

Daphne should have sputtered, backed up, and recanted her offer. Should have. Instead she reached out and tapped the teenager on her head, delicate fingers pressed to the cool skin that soaked in that warmth without preamble. "Because Shaggy trusts you." The resident hippie nodded, amused at the show and at Sibella's shocked look directed at him. "He trusted you enough to come when you didn't have to, and he trusts you to do what you need to do in order to help him. After all…didn't he do the same for you, without knowing what you are?"

Shaggy did his best not to look modest. The fact of the matter was that he never was one for attention or saving people for the sake of having that attention on him. He did what he felt was right, which was the main reason Fred kissed the side of his head in appreciation and Scooby nuzzled his hand the way a best dog friend would in situations like this. No matter how scared he was, or how tempting it was to run, he wouldn't desert those who needed him most. Not even if those people had caused him undue harm.

It was perhaps the only reason the blonde girl was still standing amongst them and not outside with those things still chasing after her. Sibella was glad there were some people in the world that weren't quite that cruel. Had her father been here…well, he wasn't, and she was sure the girl would have been screaming in terror rather than shaking from the prospect of facing those things again.

"Very well then…if you insist on doing that which isn't necessary, then I'll allow you to do this service for me. However," she warned before Daphne could remove herself completely from her space, "be aware that once I've bitten you, there will be consequences…one of them less obvious than others…but still necessary to know."

"Like?"

"Like you'll be quite weak for a time…and you won't be able to disobey me no matter how much you want to." Daphne's slightly shocked look was relief to Sibella's eyes. Anyone who didn't have that concern or didn't inquire about it wasn't worth taking on as a source. They never worked out well. "It won't last…but until it wears off anything I might tell you to do will be your first priority. If that's an issue…"

"No, it's not. As long as you have Shaggy and Freddy in mind, I don't care."

"…far be it from me to say that you don't know what true friendship is my dear…and you have my word. I will not abuse that gift. However," she said turning to the book, "we still need to brew several potions, even the bloods replenish, only with you in mind now."

"Do you need the kitchen?" Angie asked. "Do you need assistance as well?"

"The kitchen? Yes…assistance, not so much. Everything will be done by tomorrow night, so I suggest we all get a good night's rest."

* * *

"What do you think Sibella has up her sleeve exactly?"

Freddy shrugged. Plans might have been his area of expertise, but reading a vampire's mind was not. "She might be using pieces of us or things like us to lure out whatever is trying to get to you." Shaggy's pale look had Fred hugging his slender frame closer, reassuring him as best he could. It wasn't everyday someone was told that their nightmares were out to get them. Shaggy was still trying to process it and Fred was still trying not to be angry about this entire situation. Being angry wasn't going to solve anything and it wasn't worth the energy he didn't have. While he might have played like he was anything but tired, he was more than that, and it was the only reason he'd readily gone with Shaggy when it was suggested that they hit the bed.

Hit the bed he did, only he didn't leap into it like he would have if he weren't hurt. He sat himself down on it and swung his legs over only to plop his head backward and realize just how much of a headache he had. Shaggy finished up in the bathroom and came to join him; the lights turned out on his way and darkness doing its best to soothe and scare the mess out of them. Shaggy was too wired to sleep just yet and Fred was too worried about Shaggy to let his exhaustion get the better of him. Oddly enough, he was used to not sleeping when he wanted to, so it really wasn't that big of a deal.

"Like…this is not how thanksgiving is supposed to go…"

"Nope. There isn't that much we can do about it now…" Fred sighed. "We should try to sleep some…"

"What is this sleep thing you speak of?"

"It's where you close your eyes and let your mind drift into oblivion…and sometimes you have some weird dreams." Shaggy snickered against his shoulder, more than willing to listen to Fred's wild ramblings when he was tired enough to produce ideas worthy of his favorite magazine. "I haven't associated myself with sleep like the rest of the world, so it's kind of a new concept."

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah. It happens when your brain is too tired to focus, or when people drug you with something. They even have a PILL for it. I tell you, the world is getting strange."

"…so you're saying we should try to achieve this…sleep thing?"

"I'm saying we should…I mean, we could lay here and bore our brains silly. I mean, that may work…"

"Knowing you Fred, your brain would entertain itself without effort."

"True enough…it sure did during the wedding, and I sure as hell wasn't trying to entertain those thoughts…but they seemed to pay off," he said shifting closer to Shaggy. Much like the rest of them, their heads rested against one another; Fred's unkempt blonde locks mingling with the longer slightly thicker locks of Shaggy as the hippie hummed in whole hearted agreement. "I guess my brain has more sense sometimes than I give it credit for."

"If your brain had any sense now, it'd be sleeping."

"Hey, I said sometimes. Feel better?"

"No…but I'm getting there," Shaggy said as he buried his face against Fred's shoulders. "Thanks."

Fred let his eyes drift shut and inhaled the scent of Shaggy fresh from the shower. "I try." Before either man thought much about it, they were asleep and dreaming of nothing.

Outside of their room, Scooby lowered his ear and sighed to himself. He didn't think that those two would ever go to sleep, but their exhaustion and wounds had gotten the better of them finally. Things would heal and they would be all right as long as this thing lurking in the shadows was dealt with quickly. He wasn't that young of a dog anymore and danger like this was too real for him to tolerate any of his family being hurt unnecessarily. If he could and if he knew it wouldn't kill Shaggy inside, he would have dealt with it himself.

Rather than thinking about what he could be doing, he turned his eyes and ears on the woman that caused all this. She was standing at the edge of the staircase, seemingly lost about this but her scent told on her in volumes. She was in fact very aware of what she'd done and held remorse for her errors, but that bout of jealousy bubbling in her gut wasn't fooling the aging Great Dane. He'd been around the block once too often not to see what some tended not to notice, especially someone who wandered up here several moments after Shaggy had disappeared into his room.

What was she hoping to do? Hoping to find? Coming here probably was the last thing on her mind but fear tended to make one do some odd things. He'd smelt the strange magic before, felt it when it ran rampant that night and again when it came to the door where it was not welcome. Her scent was full of fear and regret but it wasn't just for what she'd done…it was for what she didn't have. She didn't have that body that was sure to protect her in the way that Fred had thrown himself for the sake of Shaggy. She didn't have that affection or the worried eyes upon her. She was a memory, one that came back thinking she could become real again.

Only she didn't see the other side of it…the side where Shaggy was screaming from the inside about Fred being hurt, or the part where Fred forgot about his mortality and did whatever he needed to do to keep those whom matter safe from all harm. She didn't see how this thing had rocked their world in ways they hated more than they hated catching wind of the actual magic within this world. Heavens above and hells below only knew of the crap Scooby and Shaggy got into without the others knowing it.

Scooby was sure Shaggy understood the other reason why they departed. They did draw unwanted attention, and sometimes getting the others messed up in that nonsense was just too much.

No one else was around right now. The Grimwood girls were downstairs putting their knowledge to the test. Velma was tucked away in her room typing away and trying to find other solutions in case this one failed them. Daphne was talking to Maggie in her own room, worrying and wondering why her bag didn't hold a cure like it did everything else. Angie was with Sam, trying to sleep but failing as she worried with her husband about what would happen to her son if something rocked his world. Shaggy would probably never be the same and that wasn't sitting well with anyone, least of all Scooby. It was perhaps the only reason he waltzed from his spot in front of the door and over to where she stood, not seeing him until he sat down in the corner of her vision.

Red rimmed eyes lost in the memory of what was looked down at the large dog staring up at her with unreadable eyes. It took her a moment to refocus herself, but she eventually came around as he cleared his throat.

"I might regret doing this," Scooby muttered, "But I think you and I need to have a long overdue talk."

* * *

_I know. You're looking at me like, "Is Scooby going to talk normal from now on?"_

_The answer is no._

_And the other question is, "You're not going to merge Harry Potter into this are you?"_

_The answer is a definite NO. I'm only using real life references to introduce the other realm of the supernatural and how well it mingles into the world of reality without us thinking about it. This is strictly a Scooby Doo story with no cross overs and only references and characters from the straight to DVD movies and the "what's new Scooby DOO" episodes will be used. I'm still debating if I want to use Mystery Inc...though that may be another story within itself._

_I'll explain more about Scooby's speech in the next chapter. :)_


	9. Forcing your ears open

**AN:**

_Okay, before you read this let me just say that I was rolling with it. It's up for revision and it most likely will be revised soon._

_We're explaining a little more about the Doo Line and playing with the gifts of these dogs as if they were magical. Seriously, if you were a character in the series, you would have to blink a little at the sight of dogs talking as if it were normal. _

_And yes...Scrappy makes an appearance...but he's not the same...size wise. _

_Also, Scooby...isn't quite so nice. Ah, I'll let you see. It fit at the time and we're talking about a rarely seen annoyed Scooby. FUN! lol_

* * *

**Part 9:**

"Since when can you—"

"Were you not listening?" He spun around, his patience already thinner than it ever was and getting thinner by the minute. "I told you before…I can't do this often. I don't WANT to. Yabba's already got the silver tongue and the last thing I need is for some smarmy ass to hear me as I am. Humans are better left ignorant about some things…and while you can understand me, I don't have the type of magic necessary to make you think THAT is normal. That is reserved for someone like Yabba and Scrappy…the little brat."

Scooby sat down in front of the fire place, his paw tapping the carpeting beneath him. "Now sit!" he demanded, forcing the mind boggled girl to her knees in front of him. She was still in some shock, but not enough to make her completely brain dead. "I can't believe I'm telling a human to sit…"

"I can't believe it either," Googie muttered.

"I wouldn't have to tell you if you'd stop asking about me talking."

The blonde had the good grace to look somewhat shamed about her curiosity. "Sorry."

"Whatever. That's not why I've brought you down her anyhow." Scooby sighed gently, lowering his head a bit and shaking it when he thought about it all again. He didn't have much of a choice. "As much as I hate being heard like this, we need to talk and I don't feel like spelling it out for you, literally."

The soft scrunch of her nose did not go unnoticed. "…okay…"

"What?"

"What do you mean what?"

"What are you thinking?"

"That this is weird."

Scooby leaned into her space. "And?"

"…you're….a bit rude?" She turned her eyes away from the slightly smirking dog and huffed when he sat back, satisfied that she'd said that. "I don't know what's up with you or…him. You two have changed from before…"

"People tend to change, Googie. It's inevitable…and for the record, I haven't changed. I'm nice by choice, not by nature." It was possibly the best way to get near the people he needed to get next to without tipping them off to something being completely off. It was also a byproduct of being around a naturally nice human that didn't think badly of anyone. Shaggy might have had his dislike of people, but that was only when he'd been crossed or the open dislike for the hippie was announced. Other than that, Shaggy was a virtual copy of his ancestor…a big chicken with a huge heart. Googie had seen it for herself, but she didn't see the more solemn side of Shaggy at all when they were an item.

"…nice by choice?"

"Yes. I choose to be nice. It's not in my blood, and it's not something I can't help," Scooby declared with the utmost solemnity. "I have every capability of being quite mean and believe me, at times it's rather hard not to haul off and bite someone in the ass for the hell of it." The girl quite literally jerked backward at his admission and Scooby sneered a little. Good. "The Doo line is designed to handle what is unordinary and we do what we must to keep our masters OUT of true TROUBLE."

Googie instantly bristled at the open implication thrown her way. "I didn't mean to—"

"No one ever **means** to…but we're not talking about that. I think you've heard it enough to understand some of what has occurred and your role in it. No, we're talking about something else…that something else you don't want to think about but you're going to deal with in the next couple of hours."

"What are you talking about?"

"The obvious."

Scooby waited for Googie to think about it for a moment. He didn't have to see to know when she realized what he was talking about. It was all in her movements and the way her hands suddenly clenched in her lap at the thought of her heart and what was in it. For that much, Scooby felt some sense of sorrow, but the girl had made her choice and she could not undo it.

"Why do you even care?" she muttered tiredly. "I already know…"

"Your head, yes, but your heart is a totally different thing. You came here with the intentions of getting help, correct?" She nodded and Scooby snorted. "That's all well and dandy, but you also came here with the intentions of trying to see if Shaggy was still hung up on you."

"He obviously isn't."

"Oh I don't know…hung up on you, perhaps not…over you? Definitely not." Scooby stopped that hopeful look from blossoming in her face with a snarl worthy of his ancestor. "Don't get any Ideas. I didn't mean it that way."

"Then…why—"

"Sam mentioned before that Shaggy is special. He is special in a way that is vital to my survival and Fred's as well. You, you were not his first love…but the one he opened his heart to because he didn't think that he deserved happiness." His tail thumped on the floor with bitter memories of Shaggy curled against him, wondering why everything had to be so complicated. He'd been there every time…licked all his tears away and tried his best to assure him that things were not quite as bad as he thought. "He didn't think someone could love him in totality…and when you came around he chose to be himself."

"…but I loved that Shaggy…" Googie admitted quietly. "I still do…I only left because of what I did…because I knew it hurt him….and I…"

"Yes…you loved a piece of him, but you were always trying to change him in some manner. He loved you enough to drop the life he had and move on from former dreams…or he had hope that he could love you that much to forget his former life…" Googie wiped at her eyes and Scooby felt a pang of guilt for what he was about to say. It was small, but it kept him silent long enough for her to process the totality of his words. "You were an escape…a means of hope for a normal life…but Shaggy can't be normal. He can't be what you want him to be. He never could but he tried…he tried to the point where he lost a piece of himself trying to please you..."

"I didn't ask him to do that!"

"You didn't have to. He would have done it anyhow…and a piece of him is still deathly afraid that he might go back to that and lose what he has now."

Googie shook her head in denial. The beginning…the beginning was grand, sweet…and worth the ache in her chest she felt every time she remembered it. It was like yesterday and the blinds were suddenly shut to leave her stumbling around in a place she didn't know like she once did. They were good together…she and Shaggy were something special…something she just didn't know how to lose gracefully without feeling that piece of hatred harbored in her heart for anyone his eyes rested on now.

Fred and She….they **never** got along. Not once. She once boiled it down to his jealousy of Shaggy finding a girl when he couldn't keep Daphne at his side. She had still thought that when she'd come here, but it was more than obvious that the tension from before and the tension now were from a duel she didn't even know she was in. She took the one person they loved and snatched him away from the hectic life they tended to get into…kept him loved and safe…

But it wasn't enough. She'd wound up hurting the one person that made life brighter and she more than anything wanted that brightness back.

"It's not going to happen." Blurry blue eyes looked up at the Great Dane that pushed his head into her personal space, startling her so much that she fell backward. She caught herself before she could completely fall, but Scooby had gotten up and towered over her with a small look of determination echoed by his words.

"S-scooby…you're scaring me…"

"Am I? You should be scared for other reasons. I'm the least of your worries."

"Stop—"

"NO. I know I said we needed to talk, but I think you need to listen in all honesty," he growled softly. "And while lamenting is your new hobby, I want you to understand something very clearly. You've caused a great deal of trouble because of your selfish mannerisms and not ONCE have you thought to apologize. You always claim to not to have meant any harm, but not **once** have you taken the time to understand the gravity of this situation or own up to it. You of all people meddled in something you KNOW is of no good use to human hands!"

"I was trying to help! His nightmares were—"

"His nightmares are his way of dealing with what he's seen! He has them because he is prone to the real magic, and when it touches him it leaves a mark…the dream catcher was the only thing to calm the fears living within his head, that and the touch of friendship…as corny as it may sound. Shaggy is special in a way no one will ever understand because they are not meant to…he is a link between the human world and the supernatural, and your meddling has thrown off the balance of chaos in a way that will kill us all if left alone!"

He hated getting angry. He hated it because when it was justified it left him breathless and itching to tear something apart because he could. The only thing here was her, and he wasn't like the wild dogs that didn't care to listen to the reasonable parts of their nature. He stepped back a bit, only enough to let her up a little as she fought not to tremble from the sudden shift in realities of what she thought she knew and what was in front of her now.

"You do not have a chance," he stated softly with a loud snap of his tail. "You will never again have that chance. I won't let you and Fred will fight you tooth and nail for the Shaggy we know inside and out. So whatever dreams or hopes and wishes you may harbor, whatever hidden intentions you may have or want to implement when other people aren't looking, I suggest you bury them quickly."

Scooby removed himself from her space, walking past the spot he once sat in and heading back for his spot upstairs in front of the doorway. He looked back as she got back up, disbelief still in her eyes. "The past is the past for a reason," he said gruffly. "And things that are not of human nature should be left alone. There is a reason why humans don't know of the world outside of their own. You've managed to prove that in spades."

"Scooby…"

"Lament if you like. It won't change anything. Apologies don't change anything either, but they do help to ease the transitions."

Scooby left her where she sat, well aware of the set of eyes staring at him from above. He didn't make apologies or say anything to defend himself from the awed eyes of Fred watching him until he was within three inches of him. He simply sat, daring the man to say anything against what was said below.

Fred didn't. He patted Scooby's large head and knelt down to hug him as if he were the last life line he had on this earth.

"Shaggy is going to shoot you," Fred murmured.

Scooby groaned quietly but smiled anyhow.

A soft knock at the front door three hours later wiped that smile from his face.

* * *

Morning came faster than anyone would have liked. It was ten by the time Shaggy opened his eyes and realized that he'd actually slept comfortably rather than fitfully as he expected. A good morning stretch only led him to realize that he was alone in the bed, but not for long.

The door opened as he moved to see that Fred's side of the bed was empty and somewhat cold. The question of where Fred was died on his lips, soon occupied by the man in question as a welcoming wakeup. Fred smelt like outside and autumn mingled with the scent of a cinnamon laced breakfast that had his mother's name written all over it, and felt like the warm blanket Shaggy could easily curl into if given the chance.

It was almost enough to forget about everything that was happening which was more than welcome to his nerves on edge.

"Come on babe," Fred urged. "Let's get some breakfast in you."

"Were you outside?" Shaggy asked.

"Yeah. I wandered out about an hour ago with your father and Scooby to walk the perimeter."

"Nothing?"

"Not a thing. Looks like she was right about them showing up every few days."

It had only been two days crossing into three. A few days could have meant anything and Shaggy wasn't about to let his guard down for a second. He also wasn't about to let Fred go just yet, long slender arms wrapping themselves around Fred's sure shoulders and tugging the blonde down for another wake up call.

He was a little delayed in getting breakfast but he didn't mind it.

It wasn't until he'd gotten downstairs and was in the middle of his eating did he notice that something was a little off. Shaggy normally would have pushed it off to his imagination getting the better of him, but he knew better than to do that now. He stopped in the middle of biting his Cinnamon Roll, looked to the left and right of him and let his eyes linger on his surroundings. Fred was at his right, sitting back and browsing the paper. He wasn't as interested in the actual news than he was the oddball stuff people tended to stick in the middle of the paper, which was normal enough. His mom was at the kitchen sink, humming as if nothing were wrong and washing the remaining dishes that were left over from this morning. He knew her humming was her self-medication and the fact that she'd pulled her hair back rather than primp it was a sign of her worry. His father was at the other end of the table with the sports section in hand and a steaming cup of coffee at his beck and call. Every now and again he'd lift it to his lips and sip mindlessly as he tended to do when he was grumbling about the scores. That too was normal…

And then it hit him.

"Like…where's Scoob?"

"Hmm? Oh, he's in the living room," Sam said. He put his paper down and rubbed his temples a bit. "We…got some unexpected company this morning."

Shaggy put his roll down. "I didn't see anyone…"

"They came in while you were getting your food," Fred said. He put his hand on Shaggy's, squeezing and trying his best not to let the knot in his throat show. Shaggy frowned. "Sorry…I wanted some food in your system before…I told you."

"Like…who's here?"

Fred didn't say. He got up and took Shaggy by the hand and took him to the living room where voices and soft growls could be heard. There was a louder one and someone's firm snap of jaws, followed by the obvious whimper of a dog that wasn't Scooby. Shaggy was indeed curious, but not especially eager to see who it was. He could only think of one dog that would come this early and he wasn't in the mood to deal with overzealous puppies.

Upon entering the living room, he felt the back of his hairs fly upwards. Fred kept a hold of him, stopping his stumble when he stopped abruptly upon seeing who was in the living room. He'd had the same reaction himself, though his was more along the lines of choking on his tongue and staring between Scooby looking dumbfounded and wondering if he was still dreaming.

He wasn't, and neither was Googie still wringing her hands trying not to touch the guest sitting in the middle of the mayhem. Daphne was on the couch digging in her purse for an aspirin and Velma….Velma was just as dumbfounded as the rest of them and that wasn't saying too much. The Grimwood girls were nowhere in sight, most likely sleeping the night off since they'd been up to the wee hours of the morning prepping for tonight. The only one who wasn't considerably at a loss was Maggie, sitting with her legs crossed right alongside her arms and shaking her head at the whole scene in front of her.

Scooby only looked back for a split second. His attention and his front paw was currently shoving the unexpected guest down on his haunches and keeping him there. He didn't look pleased, not that Scooby was himself, but such was the case when insolent not so little brats thought they could do what they pleased without consideration for others. Next to Scooby was another guest, this one white and unkempt and smelling of desert and the yonder outside of civilization. His hat was perched to the side on his head and his red handkerchief was settled to the right as well looking worn and well used in his many days of being a piece of his ensemble. The reed within his mouth was moved from the right to the left, a light sigh leaving him as he turned his gaze from the not so little pup to Scooby trying his best not to smack that "not so little" pup.

"Um…Scrappy and Yabba showed up this morning," Fred said before Shaggy could ask. "And I'm not sure why Scoob is…doing that."

"I reckon he's a bit out of line," Yabba muttered.

"You reckon?" Scooby repeated without the least bit of sincerity. "He's more than a bit out of line."

"I can still hear you, you know," Scrappy muttered.

"You, HUSH."

"Okay, what in the hell is going on?" Shaggy cried. "Why is Scoob looking like he's going to bite Scrappy in half? A better question…WHY are they HERE this EARLY?! And WHEN did Scrappy get so BIG?"

"Same reason anyone else would be if they were able and were a Doo," Yabba explained. He tipped his hat upwards, a wink directed at Shaggy still unbelieving of what he was witnessing. "One of ours is in danger…and it's our job to keep those of the Rodger and Doo line out of danger."

"Are you serious?!"

"Oh I'm dead serious. And the youngin' here finally had a growth spurt."

Scooby removed his paw from his nephew's chest, sitting back and letting the smaller Great Dane up to sit on his own haunches. Scrappy wasn't that little puppy that liked to jump in the thick of things and scream about "Puppy power". He wasn't as big as the other dogs but he was much bigger from that little big headed thing that they remembered and eventually sent back home. Scooby was getting older, Shaggy was still trying to find some balance, and they didn't have time to deal with a puppy that looked like he'd never get bigger. Shaggy always assumed that Scrappy was a dwarf version of his kind, but that proved not to be so now.

His head only came to the height of Scooby and Yabba's shoulders. He was long and limber and reminded Shaggy of those years when Scooby was moving from puppy to adolescent. He wasn't the most graceful dog, but neither was Shaggy during his own teenage years. If Scrappy had zits, he could safely say that the pup was a teen now, not that he couldn't say it or think it a lot in the coming moments. Even his voice had changed…

"I still say you should let us deal with it."

And just as reckless as ever. "Scrappy, we don't know what we're dealing with," Yabba said firmly. "If we did we would have taken care of it already if my brother hadn't. As you can see, Scooby is still sittin' here and not outside trackin' that there thing down like normal. That means that whatever is threatening the line is unknown, dangerous, and will get US KILLED."

"You sure know a lot for just blowing in here like a breeze," Velma mused.

Yabba tipped his hat to her. "It don't pay to go nowhere without knowing something…and we were coming anyhow. The whole Doo family was planning on coming this year, though I don't reckon they were planning to come quite as early as us."

"The whole Doo family?" Scooby asked. "Even—"

"Yep."

Scooby felt his heart fall and swim in his stomach. "….oh **crap**."

"What do you mean '_oh crap_'?" Shaggy asked. "Is there like…something we should know?"

Yabba and Scooby exchanged glances. There was no way they couldn't not tell them, not that they had much of a choice anyhow now. Sam had told and Scooby was allowed to demonstrate his gift, which meant that they weren't blind to the veil that kept them and other humans from questioning their unusual antics. Honestly, what dog acted like them without raising some suspicion? Even Yabba had to question it when he thought about Dusty back at home. The boy had grown a bit and was capable of handling his own now without his interference, but he was no Rodgers nor was he meant to know of his secret. Neither were any of the others surrounding them but to Shaggy, they were family…which had to be enough.

"Scoob?"

"Hmm? Right. Um…Yabba?"

"Why's it got ta be me?!" Yabba cried. "Why can't you do it, ya big Chicken?!"

"Because you were the one who showed up because of this one," Scooby growled pointing at Scrappy. "Early no less and not at my call!"

"We weren't gonna wait fer you ta call when you need us!" Yabba snapped. "Yer my brother and I'd be right pissed if something happened to yer dumb hide because you thought you could handle this shit on yer own!"

"Uncle Yabba is right!"

"Shut up Scrappy! You ain't got no say in this right now."

"I wasn't planning on calling you until I KNEW what it was, and that's not until tonight!" Scooby griped. "And even then I wasn't going to put you in the middle of my issues. You KNOW how I work…"

"Fer pete's sake…we all work the same! We are dogs of Chaos, are we not?!"

"Yes, but I work differently…and you damn well know what I MEAN Yabba."

If Velma's jaw could work itself any lower, it would hit the ground all on its own. "Did, Did I just hear what I thought I heard?" she asked. "For real, someone please tell me I've tripped out on something that someone slipped in my drink…which I need right now…"

"You're not imagining it," Daphne murmured. "I don't think we can have the same hallucinations."

"Look, I don't care who's saying what or why," Shaggy exclaimed. "Just tell me what no one seems to want to tell before I find a reason to neuter every one of you!"

This time Googie, Daphne, Velma, and Maggie let their jaws fall. Fred and Sam winced as the three dogs yelped in alarm at the somewhat impatient short tempered man that felt his nerves fraying with every second he was forced to think about the constant crap that popped up. Yabba and Scrappy quickly muttered apologies. Scooby, already sick with the thought of who was going to show up, couldn't handle the thought of being neutered for the sake of secrets. Shaggy wouldn't do it but just the thought of it…

"Scoob."

"When he said the entire Doo family is coming, he meant everyone that is able," Scooby explained, on the verge of sheer hysteria. "That includes from beyond the grave…and most importantly, those who have NOT died."

"Wait, what?! Ghosts?!"

"Reah, rhosts!"

Scooby held his head with both paws. Getting hysterical like this only messed up his magic and he'd already spoken too much for one day. He turned to Yabba, the white Great Dane just as freaked as he was and he was the bravest one of the bunch. He stopped shaking long enough to swallow, open his mouth, shut it, and then abruptly spit out, "Thomas Doo is planning on coming here with Fenrir Doo…if this matter isn't **resolved**."

"Thomas Doo?" Sam questioned. "Isn't he…"

Yabba nodded. "He is, but you read the journals of your ancestor. He's FAE…and angry FAE are not pleasant FAE. If a pissed off Thomas comes up in here with Fenrir Doo, we are ALL in TROUBLE."

* * *

Yes...everyone GAPE.

I did mention in chapter seven that Thomas Doo was Fae. So, we're messing with that too. However, this isn't going to be a plethora of characters popping in...and yes, I will explain about the ghosts soon.

_**A little history:**_

_There was an episode of Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo where Shaggy and they went to go see Grandpa Doo who was being haunted by Great Grandpa Doo because he wasn't brave enough to stay in the mansion he lived in. Of course in typical cartoon satire from that time, Scrappy managed to get the ghost to stop because of his brave nature. _

I went and did a little research on my own. After conducting several searches and reading up on characters, I've decided to kill off Grandpa Doo and Daddy Doo. Mumsy Doo is on her last leg of her life, staying at the Knittingham Farm with Mrs Knittingham. The farm that Scooby and his family were born from is this farm, however, we're going to explain more of that in later chapters. As for his relatives...well, Yabba Doo and Scrappy are the ones that stick out most for talking. Scooby Dum and Whoopsy Doo may not make an appearance. Ruby Doo, Skippy Doo, and Howdy Doo were brothers and sisters of Scooby in the "A pup named Scooby Doo" universe, so I'm keeping them. Scooby Dee, Scooby's cousin, may not make the cut as well as Dooby Doo and Horton Doo. Well, not when the action comes about. I'm still working it out so we'll see later on.

_**As for the family and friends of Velma, Daphne, and Fred for thanksgiving if all goes well:**_

_Fred's Uncle Eddie Jones will definitely be used as well as Patty and Skip Jones. Brad Chiles and Judy Reeves are too new and too...I dunno...uncaring? for me to use them properly as Fred's parents. Of course if I used them it would mean dipping into the mystery Inc universe and...yeah, no. Not yet._

_Daphne will have her parents George and Elizabeth Blake as well as her sisters Daisy, Dawn, Delilah, and Dorothy. Uncle Liam is totally fictional on my part, as is Jarrod and Darrel, but they may make an appearance as well._

_Velma will have her parents Dale and Angie Dinkley pop up, alongside her sisters Madelyn and Chloe. I know...Angie, right? *sigh* Welp, we'll adress that later too. :)_

I think that's it for now. :) Thanks all who take the time to read this. I hope to have more soon.


	10. Walking into It

**AN:**

Still rolling with it!

* * *

Chapter 10:

"Oh my…you've certainly gotten bigger."

Scrappy turned his ears up to the soft sounding voice that was as deceptive as it wanted to be on a good day. She sounded disinterested but she was far from it when she came around and knelt down unnecessarily in front of the young dog that was all ears now. Scrappy didn't say anything to thwart her observations, though he certainly didn't remember seeing her at all within his life time. Oddly enough she reminded him a lot of that female vampire that had been a bit of a ditz when they'd run into Dracula a few years ago. Well, it was more about the seductiveness of it all rather than the personality. Whoever this chick was, she certainly exuded sensuality.

He tilted his head at the light touch of her hand and backed up a little. "Do…I know you?"

"You should." She grinned then, revealing herself with no more than a smile and giggling when he sat back in shock. "I remember when you were a little pup tagging along after his uncle while his master was trying to run a gym class for the Grimwood girls. Fond memories…not to mention all the pictures I've seen of you on facebook."

Scrappy's mind was silently blown. A vampire was talking about facebook?! "You seem familiar?"

"Sibella, like, try not to freak him out too much," Shaggy said as he passed by. "He's…been out of the picture for a little while."

Sibella? This was Sibella?! Scrappy looked her over again and couldn't quite bring himself to believe that just yet. This was not the sibella he remembered from Grimwood academy…was it?

"Out of the picture?" Her curiosity was growing, as was Scrappy's when he cautiously leaned to sniff her. She smelt like roses…right before death came and claimed them. "I thought you kept in touch with everyone."

"I've been busy," Scrappy supplied before Shaggy could. He looked back at the tall man that had once been a teen, carefree then and stressed out now. So much had changed, and this wasn't even the beginning of it all. "I don't have an owner."

"And you might never if you don't finish yer training," Yabba said. The white Great Dane sauntered up to where Sibella was still looking over Scrappy and gently nudged her from her spot with his nose. She took it for what it was, smiled and walked off to take a seat next to Winnie setting up for the night that was only a few hours off.

Yabba felt Scooby sit next to him. "Sibella is one of the harmless ones," he said quietly. "She's here to help us with this thing. The tome that was used belonged to Dracula, and being that he can't just waltz out whenever he wants to, he sent his daughter."

"A tome of Dracula was used?"

"Yes."

Scrappy's ears fell back in alarm. "…it wasn't the one that I think it was; was it?"

Scooby didn't answer. He looked in the direction of the only blonde girl within the room that was on the verge of freaking out the darker it got.

Morning had come and gone. They hadn't even realized it until Shaggy had looked to the window and noticed that the sun was darker than it should have been. Another look at the clock only confirmed that it was nearly supper time, as was the scent of dinner wafting in the air thanks to Angie. Angie never missed making a meal if she could help it, and it was perhaps the only normal thing around here that made this somewhat tolerable. Shaggy, once more to the utter shock of Scrappy and the dismay of Fred and Shaggy, had little to no appetite. He'd come to the table, shoved his food around, ate a little bit, and handed the rest of it off to Scooby. Scooby wasn't one to waste food, so it was inhaled without question. As much as he hated the thought of Shaggy not eating, the Great Dane was going to need his energy tonight in ways he didn't want to think about.

Times between meals were spent explaining the situation to Yabba and Scrappy. Scooby was happy to let Velma explain, already tired of talking and more than willing to shut up for the duration. Of course there was the moment of sheer disbelief on Scrappy's part that someone they knew would go and do something like this, but his shock was more warranted to the fact that it was Googie who had done it. The other piece of his shock that kept him somewhat speechless was his realization that Shaggy had parted ways with Googie in such a fashion, and that the taller man hadn't completely lost his mind. He was so head over heels in love with her…or so he'd thought.

Once the explanations were told and situation was up to date with the here and now, Scrappy happened to look sideways at Shaggy. He didn't mean anything by it other than to study the man the teen had become, but his timing was impeccable as his Uncle's liked to snicker. His soft yelp had Yabba and Scooby investigating and then in hysterics when they realized why he was yelping. It wasn't something that they had thought to bring up but then again, there really wasn't a reason to.

Fred had only kissed him in passing, saying he was going to walk the perimeter again. Shaggy had gone with it, telling him to be careful and not seeing Scrappy's face once the teen dog had spied them. He was too busy worrying until Scooby and Yabba's laughter had the man turning about to see what the hysterics were about.

From that point until now, Scrappy had been unusually quiet. He didn't lend a paw to come up with strange outlandish ideas, and he didn't outright demand that they go out there and deal with this mess as only they knew how. Yabba wasn't going to put up with it and Scooby certainly wasn't, but even a little protest from the smaller dog should have erupted. It didn't, which had Scooby curious.

He nudged Yabba from his spot and urged him into the kitchen. Scrappy didn't follow. His eyes were still glued to Sibella sitting next to Winfred as they set up their plan for tonight.

"All right…what's up with the pup?" Scooby asked softly. "What's eating him?"

"Aside his nerves? Not much," Yabba sighed. "I suppose it has to a lot to do with his growth spurt…it hit him hard and fast, and he ain't been the spry pup you wanna slam into the wall when he gets riled up enough."

"He's aware that he doesn't have to live up to that thing I do, correct?"

"I done told him that plenty of times. It seems like he don't plan to anyhow…He never was much of a coward even if he were pretending."

Scooby nodded, looking elsewhere for a moment. "…How's mom?"

"…not to good." There wasn't a reason to lie about it, and Yabba wasn't one for fibbing even if he wanted to. Scooby wouldn't have appreciated it anyhow so it was best to lay it all out on the table now. "She's not gon' last too much longer. Mrs. Knittingham is taking right good care of her, but I reckon we all need to find our way up there after this here business is done."

"I see. Maybe that's why…"

"Why what?"

Scooby turned his gaze back to the grown pup trying his best not to look as scared as he was. Scrappy was brave without a doubt, but there was nothing scarier than realizing one's mortality when someone close to you was on the verge of meeting death. Scrappy was well aware of his lot in life and there was nothing he could do to change it. He was going to have to make sure he rose to the occasion and didn't die because of a bad decision on his part. This wasn't a game with masks and people running around trying to hide things or make money from what wasn't theirs to begin with. This was real. It had been real for a long time, but the Zombies on that island solidified that world for the grown people sitting around the living room. Shaggy had known of it all along and chose not to speak of it, and Scrappy…he'd been thrown into that world at the same time Googie was…before then even.

It was never quite that real until blood was shed. Scooby was sure that Scrappy had smelt it and it probably scared the pup senseless.

"I take it you've been living up to the hype of keeping the nonsense to a minimum back in the west," Scooby said turning to Yabba once more. "Hard to think a place like that still exists."

"You betcha…but the town has modernized itself. Dusty's moved on and I ain't going wit him this time 'round. Finally got him a wife and some kids, and the thought of not coming home made him hang that badge up."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I reckon I'm headed home…" This wasn't said lightly, as Yabba was one of the first ones to be picked and thought to never come back because of his urge to roam in wide open spaces. For him to say that meant one thing, and Scooby felt his ears lifting themselves with every word Yabba uttered as he scratched at his chin in thought. "Without Mama, future Doos are gonna need a teacher…and if I can teach that youngin' in there, then I suppose I won't do too bad of a job with anyone else coming 'round."

Scooby knew his ears were ramrod straight and Yabba smiled at him. Scooby might have worked a bit differently but he was never slow on the uptake. "You're becoming a Sire?"

"Looks that way. I think it's time…since I know you're still a ways off from having your own litter."

The snort he got was a sure sign of his words being true. Yabba laughed at him but didn't reject the light nudge of comfort from his younger brother. They had a long night ahead of them, and they were hoping that the others wouldn't decide to pop in before they knew what in the hell they were truly dealing with.

"Like…are you guys all right?"

Scooby looked up at Shaggy peering down at the two of them. Daphne was beside him this time, wondering for herself if the two dogs were all right. Scooby cocked his brow and refused to say anything. He left that to Yabba and the white Great Dane answered with a, "What in tarnation does that mean anyhow these days? I mean, are you all right?" he countered standing up on his hind legs to place his front paws on Shaggy's shoulders. "I mean, do you know what I mean?"

"Like…I'm not really all right, no…" Shaggy answered. "Like, why?"

"Because what in the hell makes you think that we're all right if you're not all right?! Damn it man, no one is all right! I haven't been all right since I had to play wife to that damn varmit back in the day…and he was one messy asshole, you know what I'm saying?"

"N-no…"

"Good! Cause I don't know what the hell I'm saying either."

His admission was enough to sputter some laughter from the slender man. It made Scooby sigh in relief to hear Shaggy's laughter and gave him some hope that tonight wasn't going to be a total bust.

* * *

"Wow."

"Wow? What do you mean wow?"

"I mean…like…wow. It's so life like."

"And?"

"And? And nothing…except like…does it have ALL your features?"

Fred's growl was nothing short of possessive and he reached to snatch a laughing Shaggy away from the affronting image of his likeness staring blankly at nothing. "You're not making sure." Shaggy laughed even harder which only had Fred squeezing his waistline a little firmer. "Besides, his head is detachable."

The girls giggled from around the room. He was right about that much. It's head was detachable based on its source sitting in the palm of Sibella's hand. When she'd asked for Shaggy's shirt and a likeness of Fred when she'd arrived here the previous night, they were sure that she was going to whip up something that resulted in a copy of the duo. What she came up with was nothing short of dumbfounding and amazing and a bunch of other words that Velma couldn't quite bring herself to say. She was too busy gawking with the rest of them, and would have continued if Shaggy hadn't said something.

She turned her attention back to the creations sitting in the middle of the room mindlessly looking at nothing. The Shaggy lookalike stood back to back with the dummy that was Fred, but it wasn't solid. It was more of a hologram with solidified features as long as someone didn't touch him. Sibella had waved her hand through him once to demonstrate her meaning, and all that remained of the image was the shirt she'd used to conjure up Shaggy's likeness in the first place. Once she removed her hand, the image returned and remained as if nothing had disturbed it. The Fred lookalike on the other hand was completely real without the brains or the personality to go with it.

The lookalike that was Fred was completely solid; everything about him looked like the Fred that they knew today, right down to the fake dressings that had been placed on its arms. Sibella didn't miss a single detail, except for what made a man a man. There was no use for that, not that it would have served a purpose in this case anyhow. It was a living plastic replica that was at the disposal of its owner, which was Sibella holding onto.

"Techinically, it is a form of Voodoo," she explained when she got questioning looks. "However, I'm not binding the essence of Freddie to the doll…just his likeness."

"It reminds me too much of those dolls," Velma muttered to herself.

Daphne shuddered in agreement. "So, how is this going to work anyhow?"

"Like any bait and switch," Sibella giggled. "Only…"

"Only what?"

"You'll see."

Daphne and Velma looked at one another. That could have meant anything by her tone of voice.

"So, who's staying and who's going?" Maggie asked.

Sam immediately pointed to her and Angie. "You're both staying here **with me**," he said before they could protest. "I'm armed and I have extra weapons ready if need be."

"And now I know why you insisted on us learning how to use the rifle," Maggie muttered. "We're you're back up?"

"No…you're the one who's going to shoot the shit out of it if it gets by me. That is, if your mother doesn't fill it with holes first."

Shaggy and Maggie didn't see that solemn look on their mother too often, but they knew it well enough to know that she was serious about her role in this. "I'll do my part."

"What about Shaggy and Fred?" Velma asked. "Won't they attract attention if the decoys don't work?"

"Oh they'll work," Winnie assured. "As for the boys, we'll mask their presence long enough to keep those things from discerning which is which." She stopped to look outside and stared at the nearly full moon rising over the forests. Another few nights and she would have taken care of it herself. However, there wasn't time to wish for more time. It had to be done tonight. "We should get going…it's dark enough already."

Everyone who was slotted to go started to gather their gear or jackets. Scrappy watched them move, already knowing that he was not allowed to move from this house. Scooby and Yabba had forbidden him to, despite the argument that ended with him on his backside and Scooby practically screaming for him to think past what he wanted to do and what needed to be done. They'd discussed this earlier in the day, outside of the ears of the humans around them with Scrappy all but demanding to have a part in this plan. The moment Scooby had said no…well…

"Scrappy, mind the Rodgers good and proper like," Yabba instructed. "Your job is important, no matter how you may feel about it. Got it?"

Scrappy nooded and remained silent. His back still hurt and his soul was still shaken by the sight of his uncle as anything else than the really big chicken he portrayed, but he knew better than to go against what was deemed best by the head dog in charge. He got a nudge from Yabba in parting like always, but he wasn't expecting his uncle Scooby to do anything other than walk past him. Scooby stopped in front of him, looking at him sideways. Scrappy instinctively ducked his head.

"You're learning," Scooby said quietly. "I want you **alive** to learn."

"Uncle Scooby…"

"Just because a grunt is placed somewhere else don't mean his job ain't important," Yabba said. "All great people, dogs, or heroes started out just the same. They were put somewhere else to do something important even though they didn't think so at the time. I'd go into details, but I think you get it."

He did get it, and it hurt twice as much. All he could do was straighten his backside and see them off by doing the job appointed to him. Scooby gave him a look of approval and moved on to follow after Sibella, Winifred, with the others following after the likes of them.

Googie was the last one to trail behind them all, terrified out of her mind.

* * *

The darkness was all encompassing as it usually was. Walking by the light of the moon was their only way of navigating the trail they were on as Sibella and Winifred could see perfectly even without the aid of a flashlight. It was bright enough for the others to see with the skies almost clear, yet the occasional cloud would stop them in their tracks until the light was allowed to shine again. It only happened twice, and each time was enough to shake Googie to the core with fear so great that even Velma swore she could smell it.

They were all scared. It was normal to be frightened. That piece of it brought the resident genius some solace to this seamlessly mindless walking they were doing to get to a clearing that had been scouted out by Fred and Sam earlier in the day. This part of it was the part she knew and grabbed onto a little tighter than she did the back of Shaggy's shirt from time to time. Shaggy didn't scream or leap when she did it. He stopped and allowed her a moment to recompose herself, eventually taking her hand into his own. It was a comfort she once would have blushed at and thought more of than now once upon a time. Fred moving to the spot where Shaggy once was and shielding her while Shaggy kept hold of her trembling hand kept Velma from outwardly freaking out.

Daphne's sure hands on her shoulders kept her grounded as well, but it was more to remind her that while this wasn't the norm, there were still the same players dealing the same hand…even if it was higher stakes. They were a team, a team posed to keep their world the way they knew it. She firmed her resolve and eventually lessened her grip on the others, but they tightened their hold and kept moving right alongside her as she did them.

The grip they had on one another only made them that much more aware of Googie and her silent cries. At one point Shaggy had stopped to look back at her, but the poor girl was so freaked out that she kept walking and nearly screamed when she ran right into Fred. The blonde man hadn't glared at her, but he wasn't pleased. Velma and Daphne took that opportunity to see Fred in a new light…one that could become something more than jovial or serious when the timing was correct. In this case, he was a man on a mission, and that mission was wrapped up in the man Shaggy had become. The scars that would form on his arms were testament enough to his dedication to the hippie and Velma and Daphne were loathed to let him add more anywhere else on his person.

It was the only reason Daphne took a hold of her hand and pulled her along, ignoring the rot of her stomach flipping and focusing on the anger of being out here in the first place. Googie's hand was clammy and trembling more with each moment she was forced to walk this path, but Daphne didn't let go and they didn't stop, not until Sibella and Winifred had come upon the clearing that had been marked by Fred and Sam.

Scooby wiped away the mark in the dirt left by Sam with his paw. He turned his attention to Yabba who was turning about looking out for anything strange. When he sensed nothing, Scooby motioned that it was all right and allowed Sibella and Winifred into the clearing. The girls set up their props quite quickly, darting from sight and into hiding just as the images came to life.

"Now that those two are in play," Sibella mentioned looking backwards, "All we need is the bait."

Googie immediately froze up. "No…no, come on, isn't there any other way?!"

"Afraid not," Winifred said. "And unfortunately, you get a taste of what Shaggy and Scooby feel when they're the bait."

Not quite. She was scared out of her skin and ready to run somewhere far without seeing what those things were up close. She'd seen enough of them for a lifetime and drawing them out was the last thing on her mind. However a pair of hands stronger than her own and the incessant pulling with the threat of her limbs being torn off inadvertently kept her from doing what she wanted. Winifred tossed her out into the open and near the dummy Fred and the holographic Shaggy and left to wait with screams at the back of her teeth.

"Is it really a good idea to leave her out there like that?" Daphne asked.

"She'll be all right," Sibella reassured. "It's like waving a steak in front of a shark…they'll be here before you know it. Untiil then, might as make it real."

"What do you mean?"

Sibella grinned as she moved the doll in her hand to a glyph she carried around with her on a piece of cloth that had come from Shaggy's shirt. She wrapped it around the doll's neck and set it down on the ground, saying a few words in Latin that Velma barely translated into something quite…beguiling. At least until she saw the dummy move on its own and grab the Shaggy hologram by the waistline.

"Why isn't it disappearing?"

"Because of the charm on it," Sibella answered as if that would explain it all. It didn't and she wasn't about to explain any further. "Don't worry, it'll be fine."

Velma wasn't so sure, but she couldn't quite help herself or her giggling when the fraudulent couple made eyes at one another and got cozy without a care to who was staring at them open mouthed and somewhat blushing. Googie nearly tripped backing up from the scene in front of here, but they didn't mind it. Fake Fred was too busy nuzzling the head of Fake Shaggy fully enjoying the affection and sinking deeper into his arms.

"And I thought the real thing was bad enough…" Daphne muttered.

Fred shoved her lightly from where he was squatting and stuck his tongue out at her laughing frame. "Shut up you."

"I think yer plan is working," Yabba commented. "Something's coming…and I think that girl's about ready to scream for reasons other than the truth in front of her."

Sure enough he woods were rustling. There was no wind to blame and no presence of the nightlife or the skies above manipulating the woodland. Scooby tensed, rising to his haunches and readying himself as best he could. He never knew what anything was when he came barging in. He wasn't designed to know or analyze what it was that was the threat until after he'd gotten good whiff of it. Yabba on the other hand was equipped to know that stuff beforehand and he probably had a good handle on whatever it was sitting around them now. That presence was focused on the girl mainly, the one who nearly became a statue as she grabbed at the talisman her headband had become and her knees buckled from her fright.

Googie had the good mind to scream senselessly as the darkness came in several waves, stealing her voice and the light as it outright attacked her head on.

* * *

And...another cliffhanger!

Will she die?

With the way I'm feeling, she might pee her pants. Or die. I dunno. We'll see soon!


	11. Sinking Deeper

I think we've reached the tamer violence of my brain. This...could be worse.

And if Bog Saget really did leave an anonymous comment about how he loved this fic, I would totally...freak.

My apologies. For some odd reason editing this thing in this FFNet editor is giving me issues. There is supposed to a line break or a horizontal LINE between two points and it just won't show the hell up. So rather than have you confused, I have the scene break in (). Okay? Sorry!

* * *

**Chapter 11:**

Everything happened in a whirl of movement that had Googie kissing the dirt face first with the scent of Fred's cologne in her nose and all around her with the feel of plastic keeping her from being a shredded mess. She didn't dare look up, screaming as the dummy was hacked at until she heard the digging paws of Yabba rushing that thing and snatching it by its neck. There was a loud screech and a snap and she moved when that dummy moved only to see that horrid thing staring at her lifeless with Yabba stomping its face in before charging another.

Scooby was already in the thick of things, moving faster than should be allowed and tackling one monster after the other with ease and tearing one's arm off the moment it tried to swing at him. He was knocked into a tree by another quicker one, but the blow didn't knock him out. It made him angrier, and somehow a branch of that tree fell right on top of the creatures without warning.

What left in their fallen places was smoke and shadow; a sign that these were minions and not the real culprits behind the attack. It didn't matter. They were here, they were seeking to do harm, and one was already quite pissed when the shaggy image erased itself at his touch and it was tackled by the plastic dummy of Fred only to have its face beaten in.

Winifred bounced off of the ground behind him, howling as her inner wolf nature got the better of her and her morphing paws. What were fists were now clawed hands that shred the face of one creature and slammed another back into the trees in time to see a mistress wink before she lopped its head off. They still didn't know what these things were, but they were like roaches crawling out of the woodwork and resembled a cross between species and alien with the true essence of terror.

She passed Sibella, idly dancing backwards from the swipes of one of those creatures until it smacked the side of a tree. She vanished and appeared behind it, smirking as it turned too late in time to see its world fall upside down into darkness. There was nothing more than shadow and dust, and Sibella staring down at it in its remaining sight as she effortlessly took out the two behind it without much movement on her part.

Googie watched in horror, nearly screaming again as someone pulled her out of the clearing and into the woods. She looked back to see Fred doing so, none too gently shoving her over where she was somewhat safe and over where the other girls were sitting terrified. The carnage before them wasn't what warranted them speechless. It was the sudden change in demeanor of the dogs and their destructive nature; their willingness to so what needed to be done without a lick of remorse for anything that was the target of their design. It had all started with Scooby rushing the first one that appeared, slamming into it and snapping in half on a tree that was outlining the clearing. It vanished with a bone chilling scream and that was the signal for the rest to come out. Sibella, Winifred, and Yabba had leapt into the circle and fought like it was an everyday thing, but this side of the dogs…it was more than shocking.

"Where's Shaggy?"

Fred spun, more than determined to find him, but was tackled to the floor as soon as a claw came flying in his head. He winced, seeing double for three seconds too long but rolled them back over in time to get up and move out of the way of Sibella moving to lop that creature's head clean off.

He grabbed a large stick in his running, snatching it from the ground and swinging it at the head of another that slipped out of the clearing and scented them. It didn't take kindly to the beating, swinging back and breaking the stick in half. Fred kept himself in front of Shaggy, but the pop of something loud and completely unseen kept him from moving. He smelt the smoke before he saw that creature's eyes roll backward and fall before it faded into shadow. He didn't have to spin to know what had gone on, but he was no less shocked.

Shaggy stepped in front of him with a rifle in hand, a grim look on his features and willing to do it all over again. "Just because I'm a pacifist doesn't mean I'm not human," he said. "Besides, Pop never lets me leave his sight without some kind of a weapon."

Fred had forgotten about that. He was sure the old man had thrust it upon Shaggy before they left, with silent instructions to use it only when it was bad enough. He knew from their tales that they didn't use firearms. Traps were enough, but this wasn't some wayward human trying to keep something secret or scare them off. This was real, a test to see if they could live beyond their screams and do what must be done to live to see another morning.

He looked down at the rifle in Shaggy's hands. "Last resort?" Fred asked quietly.

Shaggy nodded. "Just like you're not ready to lose me, I'm not ready or willing to lose you."

Just to prove his point, he took aim at the trees and shot down the unseen creature lurking within them. Fred was impressed, and slightly horrified to learn that there was a new kink in his life he wanted to explore the moment they got back home.

Home.

They still had to get back home. He grabbed a slightly longer stick, one with a jagged edge and waiting to find a home in the chest of a creature that spread its arms at the most inconvenient time. The shoved until he was bent over, staring at that thing glaring up at him in disbelief and at the stick in its chest before it faded and vanished into smoke and what looked like black sand.

"I want one," he breathed as he moved with Shaggy somewhere closer to where the girls were staring wildly at him. Shaggy stopped to shoot another, but Scooby was there and tackling it to the ground, snapping its back with his weight and snarling as he and Yabba tore it to pieces. "And Yabba is welcome anytime at our house."

Yabba lifted his head up, tilting his hat a bit. "Good to know," he crowed. The image of his smiling face was marred by the disheveled look of his fur and the open wound on the side of his face, but neither bothered him. He leapt off just as soon as the last of those creatures came looking to see what happened and found two angry dogs on either side of them.

Sibella lifted herself from where she was crouched, brushed herself off a bit, and sighed. "Just as I thought," she muttered. "There's nothing else like it…and I was hoping it was something resembling a dementor or something tolerable."

"Those things are real?!" Daphne cried.

"A lot of things are real…most of what you think is fiction is truth told between the lies. This is no different, and the things that we're fighting fight for keeps. In other words, they aren't going to stop until the main problem is taken care of….and while sacrificing the caster is usually the issue solver, I don't think we're allowed to do that."

Googie shook her head no even as the others contemplated what she said. It wasn't an option even if she hadn't said it. The noise was quieting, but the sudden yelp of Scooby was more than enough to draw them out of their little reverie.

Scooby lie on the ground, guarded by Yabba and his bleeding muzzle. The thing that was in front of them was much bigger than the others and stronger and twice as ruthless. It's size was like that of a troll, it's skin flapped and folded over and unable to hide the hideous smell that exuded from it and its mouth when it opened to roar at the dogs. He wasn't even able to make a decent midway roar when another shot echoed and this time cut that ugliness down with a shot to the head it stupidly waved at before it was turned into nothingness.

Fred lowered the gun and rushed out to tend to Scooby as he moved to get back up.

* * *

(**back at the cabin a little later**)

"Red…I'm rokay.…"

"Whatever Scoob. Just…shut up and rest, will you?"

Scooby pretended to pout, but he really couldn't when he was sitting in front of the fire with a blanket over his prone form. Fred was the reason behind it and he left him with a firm pat on the head. Scooby listened to him walk away a short distance before his attention was on the younger dog curling up to him against his chest. Yabba's head was careful to land on his shoulder, a light nuzzle of relief the only thing spoken between the brothers staring into that fire and trying not to think of just what those things really were.

"Scoob…"

"I know," Scooby murmured exhaustion in his voice. He put his head down, leaning into the nuzzling of his nephew. Yabba leaned further into him, a whine in his throat as his bandaged face buried itself in the warmth of the fur beneath him. "It'll be taken care of…"

"I don't want you to die doing it…"

"I can't promise that….but it's going to end before it gets out of hand."

He meant what he said, and that had Scrappy silently crying. He did his best to lick away the pup's tears, tired, annoyed, and upset that something like this had caused them to see the mortality of life. He could feel Scrappy's spirit wane at the thought of what was to come and he wanted nothing more than to prove the logical part of their brains dead wrong.

He settled for doing his best to comfort his nephew while his brother took to watching over them and ignoring the world around them.

In the next room, Googie placed down a now empty glass. The scent of whiskey was strong, but it lingered and did its job in calming those who ingested it down. Shaggy had declined, choosing to nurse a beer Fred hand handed off the moment he inhaled half of it. His hands were still shaking. He did his best to occupy them with something mindless to do, but there was no dishes to be done and nowhere to put them aside the table. He did so when he sat down, but his hands were soon taken under the warmth of those slender fingers wrapping around his right hand and bringing up to grateful lips.

"I need to thank you…"

"I would have done it anyhow," Fred said softly. "But that is probably not the way to refresh one's shooting skills."

Shaggy smiled and butted his head against Fred's. It was no secret that if you were a member of the Rodger household you knew how to handle a firearm and how to respect one. The girls weren't interested in such means of violence, but the boys couldn't have been gladder to know how and when to use it. The gun was still an unexpected factor in all of this, one that had the boys grinning in relief and the girls wondering if they should sign up for lessons somewhere. It was still a shock to the systems of all, one that had Daphne reaching for the whiskey bottle again and downing another glass.

"You shouldn't drink after giving that much blood," Velma warned.

Daphne shook her head. It was a disturbing feeling but more welcome than the terror still drifting in her bones. Sibella had exhausted a good bit of her energy before when she was fighting those things, but the fight raged on after Fred shot that massive thing in the head.

Winifred was a little mangled and tired, but otherwise fine. She had a few wounds here and there but nothing that wouldn't heal on its own in time. Sibella, on the other hand, had been caught off guard by the appearance of another massive creature and was attacked to the point where blood was drawn.

Daphne had never seen anyone transform so quickly, not even in her nightmares. The girl that was somewhat pale looking with rosy cheeks was definitely not the monster that let itself out and cause havoc amongst anything that was identified as a foe. She tended to forget that Vampires were types of demons themselves, and when pushed to the limits they weren't just large bats that flew around for the hell of it. They were fearsome creatures and willing to take out anything that wasn't on their good side.

Once the battle was over, the gun was emptied, and they were settled again, Fred had scooped up Scooby and darted back the way they came with Winifred and Yabba leading the way. The initial armada had been taken care of but they weren't staying to find out if more were coming. Googie was hoarse from screaming and Shaggy was ten seconds from unveiling another piece of metal from his side. The pistol was still there but it wasn't going to be used for much else than the secure weight. Velma was fascinated, horrified, and sorely confused, and Daphne didn't quite have a chance to let it all sink in so that she could properly freak out. Sibella grabbed her before she could sit down and then…

She rubbed her arm a little and fingered the closed wounds. "We'll call it an aide to getting drunker faster," she said to Velma. "I think I need to remember tonight as little as possible."

"Did you find out what those things were?" Sam asked from where he stood.

"Unfortunately yes…and solving that matter is going to be work," Sibella sighed. "You see, when the girl chanted the spell to erase Shaggy's dreams, she conjured a dream-mite that sucks the thoughts and dreams out of whoever its intended is."

"A….dream-mite?" Velma asked.

"More like the beginnings of what a real nightmare is. You see, humans are creatures that can dream and have the ability to change the world and perform the impossible. Dream-mites are like mosquitoes; they're drawn to strong dreams. Usually they have their fill and leave well enough alone, but some like the one she conjured are not dream-mites in reality. They're sandmen….sandmen that are addicted to power and creativity, and would do anything they could to get their hands on a jackpot like Shaggy."

"So…those creatures—"

"Are minions of the Sandman…and the manifestations of whatever was trapped in that Dream Catcher."

"So that's why they looked like alien movies gone horridly wrong," Fred mused, "And why my shoes are full of sand…."

"Sandmen are dangerous by right," Sam said. "They are not to be toyed with; not even the well-meaning ones. They control dreams and the outcomes of the dreams they guard and dispense. Shaggy's dreams are outrageous…letting some evil Sandman get his claws in my son is not happening."

"Which is why evil sandmen are called Nightmares," Sibella explained. "Basically she unleashed a walking nightmare that feeds off of other nightmares to gain power…and if their source of power is worth the risk, they will find a way to snatch it for themselves."

Fred stared worriedly at Shaggy. "I almost wish you never…had to have one…"

"I wish it myself." Shaggy kissed Fred softly and buried his face in his shoulder. "But they happen in order for me to deal with what I see. I can see that most things aren't quite that scary, but I have a healthy respect for them and what to leave alone."

"Shags…"

"Like, I'm okay Fred. I haven't had a nightmare since I've been with you."

"And we're not risking you having one," Velma declared. "But since you've been nightmare free…oh dear god, that Nightmare is going to go after Fred…"

"What?!" Daphne cried. "How do you know?!"

"That thing needs a source, and a source that doesn't have nightmares is no good to it…especially when the source has something or **someone** preventing it from having them in the first place!" She hated being right, and she hated it when she couldn't think of anything to announce she was wrong just so they wouldn't worry as much about things. Velma cursed and slammed her fist in front of the silent blonde. "I'm starting to change my mind!"

Googie thought she would faint. "You're not serious!"

"The hell I ain't! No one asked for this shit and frankly you should be the one trying to fix it, not us!" Velma snapped. There was no calming the residential genius. She was disgusted, angry, and had more than three shots of whiskey in her system. Shaggy got up to calm her but she knocked his hand off of her shoulder with a small apology and towered over Googie. "You have been a pain the ass since I met you! First you take Shaggy from us, then you break his heart, and now you waltz back in like its nothing with something like this hindering our lives because you were too stupid to realize NOT to mess with that damn TOME?! No, I'm not hearing it. **You** need to get it together," she snarled. "You should be working twice as hard to make things right because not ONE of us asked for this! I certainly didn't ask for my thanksgiving to be a nightmare fest thanks to the righteous selfish actions of an idiot and I'm not going to HAVE one."

"Velma, you've had too much to—"

"I haven't had enough to drink, damn it." She snatched the rest of the whiskey bottle, a glass, and started marching out of dining room. "I'll have a headache come morning, but I sure as shit won't have to consider throwing this bitch to the Nightmare and forgetting about it. My conscience will work again and I might consider trying to fix this shit somehow. But right now, I'm getting friendly with Mr. Whiskey and forgetting the world for a little while."

Velma left, but she popped in long enough to point at the back of Googie's head. "The only thing I can be grateful for aside being alive right now is that you weren't cowardly enough to wait until there was some inexplicable death. I'm sure the decision would have been unanimous."

She left again, muttering, and leaving some stunned faces behind. "Okay…well, we know not to let her drink when she's angry," Daphne said needlessly. "Oh boy….this is going to hell in a hand basket. She's right, isn't she…"

Sibella nodded and tried not to sigh along with the rest of them.

Googie wiped her face before anyone could notice the new onslaught of tears. This was her fault, and Velma was right about one thing…she had to try harder to fix it.

* * *

"Fred…"

It hadn't been quite that long since his hands hand traveled along the soft planes of his torso, but it felt like forever with the foreign feel of bandages and tape in the way. There was nothing they could do about it but nurse their wounds; the soft spread of Shaggy's fingers over where Fred's forearm lingered in support, feeling the bandages but not acknowledging them. It was the same for Fred as he reached up and felt smooth patches of skin between the bandages on Shaggy's backside, a total contrast from the front that settled against him; his chest heaving slightly as he adjusted and kept hold of Fred.

Fred kissed the center of Shaggy's chest lightly. "I think we're supposed to be fighting…"

"Over what?" Shaggy breathed.

"Who does what…who goes where…how much I want to wrap you in bubble wrap and just stick you somewhere safe…"

Shaggy laughed softly, drawing a soft moan from Fred. He leaned forward and snatched those lips for his own, pushing them backward or forward on the bed until Fred was breathless and Shaggy was staring down at him with those half lidded eyes. He was always so lax looking…always calm despite his being scared…he night have yelled and ran and usually tripped over his own feet in trying to get away from the madness, but tonight…tonight Fred saw a little more.

There was no denying that he loved Shaggy. He loved him more than he loved anything or anyone else. He loved that spirit that was often mistaken for something less than it was, and it was that same spirit that gave him the strength to stay where he was. He could have easily fallen back for that woman back there, could have easily sidestepped what they had and blamed it on loneliness…could have found some justification in why this was happening to him and let it…but he didn't. Shaggy didn't. This small little feat is what continued to amaze Fred each and every time he looked upon Shaggy and wondered what he'd done right to deserve this happiness.

"Like, you could do that," Shaggy chuckled, "I'd let you…but I'd do the same…and I doubt the girls would be happy with being the bait or setting the traps."

"Daphne's too much of a MacGyver to change roles now….ugh!"

"Enough…" Shaggy whispered, dragging his lips over the shell of Fred's ear. Fred shivered; his hands snaking down the planes of that skin to find the globes that sat back and reminded him just how attached at the hip they were at the moment. He felt Shaggy's head push into his own, soft lips against his breathing and huffing as the pleasure mounted to where it was hard to speak. "Move…"

It had been a little more than an exhausted tumble into the sheets. Fred had sat down and Shaggy was on top of him, kissing him senseless and making it hard not to reciprocate when the clothes came off and the idle touching became burning yearns for flesh upon flesh and sealing their love in the physical sense rather than the mental. They were still virtually on the same page in their thoughts; there was no other and there probably would never be. Shaggy dove into their love making with a desperateness Fred had felt the first time they were like this…like he'd never get another chance and that he'd wake up bleeding somewhere and seeing it as some farfetched dream.

This was as far from a dream as it could be…the gentle motion of them as one moving to their own tempo, somewhat frantic but tempered with the knowledge that they were not alone. Fred rocked and Shaggy rocked with him, cradling him in his arms, kissing him, whispering soft nothings against his lips as he tried not to cry out. Fred stole his lips and his breath, sinking into the hippie and losing himself completely without fear of waking up to find himself alone.

When it was over and they lie there against one another breathing, Fred wrapped his hand around Shaggy's and placed their twined hands over his heart. The gentle thud of it against his ribs kept them from drifting but allowed them to relax and feel one another as they only could. They didn't think about Velma's sure conclusion, or about the girl that really didn't ask for any of this, or the worrisome fact that someone could indeed die from this. They only thought about the here, the now, and how they weren't about to lose the best thing since Shaggy had come back to the group that short while ago.

"If I die tomorrow…I'd die happy," Shaggy whispered. "I got to love you…the way I want to, and you understood that more than anyone else. I'd regret leaving this life behind, but…something is better than nothing."

Fred tightened his hold on Shaggy. "You're still moving in with me."

"You know, I'm like packed and just waiting for this to be over."

"I know…and it's going to be over soon, and when it's over, we'll suffer through the families mucking in our lives, go back to OUR home, and make a mess of that bed before we plod down this road of our lives with me stalking you."

"Like…stalking Fred?"

"Oh yeah. I'm not letting you out of my sight after this…and any ex's that come knocking are getting kicked in the ass."

Shaggy giggled as Fred stole his breath away one more time. The night was still fairly young and they were still fairly pumped up with adrenaline, so it was of no surprise to find himself filled again and breathless as Fred tried his best to make him pleasantly numb.

Morning would come…and they would face this…but right now Shaggy could only think of Fred and that drilling piece of him that sought to make him brainless.

What a way not to have a nightmare.

* * *

Okay, some sappiness to...calm us down a little. Onto the sure drama, talking, and appearance of Fae type people that are NOT happy. I'll be borrowing from Scooby Doo and the Goblin King a little.

I don't know how long this is going to be but I hope you'll stick with me. :) I love the reviews. Again, you don't have to read "So Close, So Far" to understand this fic but it is a nice introduction as to how Shaggy and Fred got together.

More soon.


	12. Morning Light

AN:

An update! Whoot~!

Sorry, school dominates my life. :P

* * *

**Chapter 12:**

Morning did come…but they weren't facing the hidden nemesis that was hiding somewhere in the dark looking to get into Shaggy's head. They woke to find themselves snickering at the obviously hung over Velma that didn't have the proper energy to tell anyone to shut up. All she could do was moan and stare at the concoction Daphne stuck in front of her, smiling smugly as Velma thought about going back to bed and dying that way.

"No one told you to take the bottle with you," Maggie giggled from nearby.

"Well…We're going to call it a moment of weakness…" Velma muttered. "Oh god, turn the sun off."

"No can do…and you, my dear," Daphne said with a light shove of that glass, "need to drink this. It'll help you recover."

Velma reluctantly wrapped her hand around the glass. While the Blakes were dignified people of money and culture, they were also the ones to have a sure fire hangover cure ready and waiting somewhere. Hell, their cabinets were full of liquor and surely they had their days when they just sat and drank and forgot.

Velma had sat and drank and not forgotten. She vaguely remembered tossing the bottle somewhere before the adrenaline wore off and her exhaustion caught up to her. She landed haphazardly on the bed and woke up feeling her glassed digging into her face and her arms wrapped around a lump of covers she'd gathered up in the midst of her sleep. The back launching of her breath further woke her and reminded her why she didn't indulge like this. Seeing that yuck that was a hangover cure in a glass further reminded her, and with some resolve and determination not to vomit all over the place, she pinched her nose and guzzled it down with the others laughing at her.

Well, almost all of the others. Velma was careful not to slam the glass down as she breathed, recoiled from the aftertaste and stared at Googie. The blonde was fingering the talisman she'd made out of her headband, the one she'd wrapped her fingers around as she stared into the darkness and stayed up until her eyes shut themselves without her permission. She'd slept fitfully, sounds of gunfire in her ears and a side of Shaggy she'd never seen before, and the disturbing reality of just how much Fred loved the hippie by taking that gun like he'd always owned it and shooting that creature without fear. It made her heart quiver, but not for reasons she liked. Deep down a piece of her was determined to be the only one who saw Shaggy's love, but that was gone alongside her wayward hope that this would end the way she wanted.

Shaggy and Fred had only come into the kitchen, barely touching one another but more in sync than she and Shaggy ever could be. Mornings would result in Shaggy asking for food and inquiring where Scooby was, paying more attention to his best buddy while Googie turned around and whipped up a breakfast that she didn't see how Shaggy managed to devour. This morning Shaggy greeted the others with a light wave, grinning, laughing when Fred playfully shoved him out of the way in lieu of the waiting coffee mug in Sam's hands. He inhaled the scent, gulped twice, let out a satisfied sigh and wandered back over to Shaggy to grant him a coffee flavored morning kiss. It was shared twice with a slight ruffle of Shaggy's hair, Shaggy shoving Fred's shoulder playfully as Fred when to check on Scooby and his family.

It wasn't practiced. It was real and a sign that this relationship wasn't a passive thing for either man. She watched with slight envy as Fred knelt down to Scooby's level and greeted him the same way Shaggy did in the mornings.

It was as if…

"You would swear they were married or something," Daphne mentioned. "Would you marry him Shaggy?"

"Like…can we move in together first and deal with that before we like…talk weddings and junk?" the hippie answered. "I mean…We haven't even like, hit the cool off stage."

"I doubt that's going to happen," Velma surmised. "That usually happens earlier…you two move and act like…like…them!" she said pointing to Angie and Sam. The older adults were doing their best not to blush despite Angie handing Sam his morning cup and kissing him good morning as she always did. Velma would have further commented had she not thought about what Shaggy said. "Wait a minute…move in together? When did that happen?!"

"It hasn't…at least not yet," Shaggy sighed. "We were waiting until after the usual festivities to do the actual moving but he asked me a couple of weeks ago."

Daphne and Velma looked at one another. "You can't do anything until it's OFFICIAL," Velma instructed before Daphne could say anything. "And I mean invites in the MAIL and Fred dopily announcing such a thing to the world."

"What's this about me announcing something?" Fred asked as he walked back into the kitchen. "Did I miss something vital?"

"No…they're like, planning our wedding," Shaggy said dryly.

Fred finished the rest of his coffee. "Can't we move in together first?"

"Like, that's what I said!" He took a look into Fred's cup. "You want another?"

"No…I want **food**. I'll get another cup with breakfast."

"What do you want?"

"We got stuff for pancakes?"

"I think so. Go sit, I'll cook. All right?"

And just like that, Fred was banished to sit down wherever and Shaggy was moving about gathering things to make pancakes. Daphne and Velma looked at one another again as Maggie laughed and made herself comfortable in a seat next to the resident genius. "Rodgers tend to take care of the ones they love most," she said as she watched her brother work. "Cooking for a loved one runs in our blood. It's a sure sign that we've lost the battle completely."

"Sam cooks for me all the time now," Angie giggled. "Claims it's his one true joy. Oh, let me help you dear…that's a lot you're making."

Indeed it was. Shaggy easily moved over to allow his mother to help him, and soon the two were whipping up breakfast as if nothing were looming over their shoulders to snatch this all away.

Velma, still somewhat aching, groaned inwardly when she saw the parting head of blonde vanish. Fred was still at the table, being grilled by Maggie and Daphne and Sam had vanished to spend some time with the dogs. That only left her unoccupied person noticing Googie walk off without a word but the soft sniffle was there. Velma could hear it because it was like being punched in the side of the head and while she was loathed to admit it, she knew WHY it was there and why it hit her like she did.

Velma got up from her spot, dizzy, tired, but putting one foot in front of the other to find herself outside, staring at Googie's slender backside and doing her best not to ignore the silent crying from the girl.

"Why couldn't you just have had his kid?" she muttered.

"Who says I didn't?" Googie shot back, just as miserable as Velma felt. "I almost wish that was the reason…but unfortunately I wasn't meant to do that much or anything else."

"…You can't—"

"I don't know…it happened right after we broke up…and then…I couldn't tell him because of what I did, not that any of it matters now."

"….why are you telling me this so easily?"

"I have nothing **left** to lose." She really didn't. It hit her so hard she'd been breathless until a moment ago and ready to launch herself into the woods just to find that damn sandman nightmare and set him to sorts before she was killed. She turned to Velma, arms folded around herself and eyes trained on the ground as she fought to keep her sight clear a moment longer. "I don't know why I came here."

"You came here for help, didn't you?"

"Y-yes…but…I was…I mean…Shaggy was….one of the best things to happen in my life…" she admitted, tearfully wiping her face and gasping as she fought past the words stuck in her throat. "I thought…I never thought I'd do anything to lose it…to lose him…but…I **did**…but I don't know what hurts worse…knowing that I lost him or that he never…**truly**…_loved_ me."

Maggie's words…the way they went about their business without thinking about who was in the room or why…little things that didn't bother Velma but she'd gotten used to it. She'd come to accept that certain things would never be and that was fine enough. Googie hadn't, and from what she'd heard and seen, things were rather one sided on her part. Velma hated that she could understand that, and she hated that she almost felt pity for the girl. Almost.

"I'm going to regret saying this," she muttered to herself. "But…here goes. Googie, Shaggy did **love** you."

"No he—"

"Yes HE DID. He loved you more than you think! He left US, his best friends to live a life with YOU a total breeze from out of nowhere and up and suddenly taking OUR hippie away! If he didn't love you, he would have NEVER left."

She wiped her face but she didn't budge from her spot. "…but you all hate me…he **hates** me…"

"No one hates you. Well, I do but not for the reasons you may think," Velma clarified. "I hate you because you've donated to the fact that humans are quite stupid with their emotions and well-meaning souls can fuck up in ways that have people blinking…but I don't hate you for whatever reason you may think. And Shaggy doesn't hate you. He can't…it's not in him to hate. Dislike, yes…but hate? No, never."

"How can you know?"

"Because I know Shaggy. Googie…you need to talk to him. Preferably before you do something stupid." She pointed to her hair and the lack of a talisman headband in it. "Don't. All right? Just don't."

"But I have to fix this…"

"And it will get fixed, but damn it Googie, I don't like not forgiving people for stupid shit. I forgave you already for stealing Shaggy before I could steal him myself, I forgave myself for thinking that I wasn't worth it, and I forgave Shaggy for up and leaving and coming back without a WIFE. Hell, I even forgave you for wasting his time and breaking his heart! It happens…but doing what you're thinking? You might stop this literal nightmare, but your unnecessary death will scar him in way that will never leave him the same and that…I **can't** forgive you for."

"Velma…"

"Life happens Googie…it's how you deal with it that counts."

Obviously drinking wasn't meant for Velma. She held her head a little and tried not to wish the sun would implode. For the first time today she was glad it wasn't summer and she was glad that her mother and her sister were not here to witness this. The last thing she needed was a scolding from two people who were on opposite ends of nuts…and shit, she still hadn't informed Madelyn that Shaggy is no longer up for grabs.

Her little sister would find out soon enough. For now, she had her hands full with shoving Googie back into the house and right into Shaggy's chest.

Velma yelped as she fell backward, only to be caught by Fred. He helped her up, helped dust her off, and handed her a mug of waiting black coffee as he steered her in the direction of the kitchen.

"…does this mean my headache wasn't in vain?" she asked hopefully.

Fred, more than amused, kissed her forehead and sat her down before taking Shaggy's place by Angie and helping to cook. "I'll buy you a new book."

"Aw, Fred loves me."

"Of course…but I think we need to fix you up good and proper."

Velma tossed a crumpled up napkin at the back of his head. "Only when you propose."

* * *

It was daylight this time, but no less cold and awkward than it had been when they first tried this. Googie folded her arms against her body, seeking warmth but unable to find it as Shaggy stood before her looking at the horizon. She felt her gaze fall to the deck, the wood suddenly interesting until Shaggy moved and stared right at her with those eyes that said more than he could or ever would.

"As much as I want to ask you why, I don't think you'll come up with an answer I'll understand," Shaggy said quietly. "And I don't think I have an answer for you that you'll **like**."

"What's the difference?" she sniffed. "We can't answer one another, so why not try? It makes more sense than trying to understand what you won't tell me aloud."

"And just what do you want me to tell you? That I loved you?" Her breath hitched a little, and she couldn't tear her eyes away even if she tried to. Shaggy gave her a half of a smile, one reserved for her and a little more meaningful than it had been when he'd first given it. It wasn't a whole one….those…were meant for someone he loved more than anything. Scooby was certainly on the end of that spectrum. "I did love you Googie…I still do…but the fact of the matter is that we didn't work…not the way you wanted or I thought."

"But…we were so good…"

"No we weren't. You said so yourself." She gave him a perplexed look and he sighed a little. "I didn't pay attention to you. I was more interested in food…and Scooby…and other things. I already had gotten the girl…what else did I have to do? Apparently more than I was ready for."

The good times were good. They were more than good. She didn't think anything could be that blissful, just sitting around the house and indulging Shaggy with food, curling under his arm and feeling his warmth around her when she shivered and he would curl up to her. Moments like that were stuck in her mind; soft moments where their light kisses were something more, something deeper…and losing herself against him was a sin she could not take back nor wanted to. Those times she wanted…those times she craved….

But the bad times…the ones where they were yelling at one another, where he would walk off, when she had to practically beg him to touch her or stay near her…those times…she hated those times. It always felt like something was slipping, like that little half smile was rarer and scarcer until it wasn't there at all. It was only his soft frown, his light sighing, and his tending to move elsewhere that sparked her to do something…drastic.

She could without fault lay it all on her shoulders now, because seeing it over and over again in her mind's eye pushed him right back into the arms of the one she thought would be the end of Shaggy. She had stepped out of the light, hurt, angry, and confused about how it all went up in one spectacular bonfire and Fred had slid back into his spot and right into the space she should have been standing in right now.

It HURT knowing that more so than seeing it. That soft ache in her chest made the chilled air a little bit harder to breathe in even as she stared at Shaggy trying to understand something she couldn't quite explain aloud.

"Googie, honestly…what kind of life would we have had?" Shaggy asked. She wanted to say a good one, but the words would not come. He seemed defeated, but not because she couldn't speak. "Trying to live a lie brought this on, so in a way this is my fault as well."

He was blaming himself? "It's not—"

"It is."

"It's not!" As much as she blamed him for a lot of it, the reasons for not pleading for him to come back were too painfully obvious. "I never…meant for that to hurt you so much…" she admitted softly. "I wasn't thinking…and I tend not to when I'm angry enough…but, I am sorry I broke your dream catcher."

"Googie…"

"I am sorry for breaking it…but unfortunately not for all the reasons." She didn't feel it in her to smile. Her body did it for her and cried fresh tears as she said, "I'm sorry I caused you this pain…but I'm **not** sorry that **_Fred_** sent it to you or that I wanted to **break** it because HE sent it to you."

"What?"

She wiped her face a little and stared at that face wondering if she'd ever see that half smile again. It meant so many things once, but now it was a symbol of his half given love…love that had been occupied from the start by none other than her unknown rival in love. "If we're going to be honest, let's get it all out there, hmm?" she suggested. "I'm sorry I put all this on your head…but I'm not sorry I came, I'm not sorry that I asked you for help….and I'm not sorry that I don't give a ripple what happens to Fred right now because he's managed to do the one thing I could never do…"

Shaggy was slightly confused. "And…that might be?"

"You **cooked** for him…and that means that trying to bring you back…trying to win you back…doesn't mean shit to anyone but myself." She snorted then; frowning some as she looked at the floor again. Scooby's words played in her ears, singing softly until she was rather annoyed that it was true. "Oddly enough, your dog was right," she muttered. "I lost….but I think I lost long beforehand."

Shaggy didn't quite deny it. He nodded after a moment, silent and wondering if talking was a good idea after all. "You can't help who you love."

"No…oddly enough you can't…and that's the saddest lesson of love."

She didn't run for the cabin or rush off into the woods. She simply leaned against the railing of the deck and decided that out here was nicer than talking out loud and listening to her heart break as Shaggy moved from the cold and back into the house. The door shut itself, but the tears kept coming.

She wiped one away unwilling to let herself mourn.

* * *

"Babe, try not to choke yourself."

It was rather hard not to, sitting here and licking his fingers clean of some of the best bacon he had in quite some time. It was nothing like the store brand, fresher even, and it came in a plastic bag and not that sealed tight crap he had to open with scissors every time. He made a questioning noise, grinning when Shaggy rolled his eyes and Daphne laughed at the two of them. "There's a local butcher in town. He makes his own bacon," she explained. "I usually shop from him for the festivities. He has the best birds to roast."

"And where was this bacon before?"

"He just started making it…and it's so popular now that he only does it for special occasions."

"Like when I ask?"

"Like when the holidays come about. I promise to bring some for Christmas."

"Aw, Daphne loves me."

"And you love me enough to get me a new book," Velma teased. "Quick, you'd better do something for Shaggy before he gets jealous."

Fred turned to Shaggy, grinned, and handed him the last piece of bacon on his plate. Shaggy readily accepted it, wiping his face of false tears and hugging him as he said, "Yes, I'll marry you!" The girls laughed themselves silly, even if Fred didn't outright denounce Shaggy's words. He simply kissed the side of his face, accepted the piece Shaggy stuck between his lips, and chewed as Sibella and Winifred walked into the dining looking much better than they had last night.

"Sounds like we're missing something interesting," Sibella cooed. "Tributes of love? A ceremony?"

"Bacon!" Winifred crowed. "Let me at it!"

"Like, there's plenty left," Shaggy said. "Help yourself."

"Don't mind if I do!"

"You need something Sibella?"

"Not necessary," she said looking at Daphne. "I had a generous donation last night. I'll be full for a while longer. Thank you, by the way."

Daphne waved her off and invited her to sit in one of the empty chairs. "Any thoughts on this thing?"

"We have to draw it out. Nightmares usually come out of nowhere to infiltrate your dreams and scare the crap out of you, but Sandmen are harder to locate. Usually they're hidden in someone's dream world, the last place anyone could look or reach because that magic is old and essentially limited to those of fae blood."

"So Sandmen are fae?"

"In every sense in the word," Yabba commented. He strolled in from the living room, yawning and making himself comfortable by laying his head against Fred's lap and enjoying the scratch he got behind the ears. "Sandmen aren't usually violent things, but like every race known, there are some bad apples in the bunch. I'm supposing that the spell cast unleashed a particularly bad Sandman to take the nightmares from whomever."

"In this case, it was Shaggy…and now it's like some power hungry thing," Velma muttered. "It followed Googie trying to get to the source did it not?"

"That and since she called it, it wants to be free of her grasp," Sibella said. "You see, she might have conjured it but she still has a hold on it. She can put it back since she was the one to call it, which is why it wouldn't hesitate to kill her. It'll also destroy anything that would keep it from its goal, so Fred is in danger as much as Shaggy and Googie are as well."

"If she still has a hold on it—"

"We could drive it back into the book. However, there is the question of finding it."

There was that to contend with. Yabba groaned at the effort and proceeded not to think any more than he had. His attention was on Fred rubbing his head and Scooby making his way to Shaggy with a slight wince to his step. He'd gotten hit a lot harder than he would have admitted to. Hell, Yabba couldn't quite ignore his own mashed up face despite it being fixed up proper. Scooby didn't say anything. He simply sat, pushed his head into Shaggy's waiting ones and relaxed himself.

"Where's Scrappy?"

"Sitting with Sam in the living room," Yabba said. "He's still shook up from last night."

"Seeing his uncle come back like that would shake up any pup," Scooby sighed, "which is WHY I told him not to come."

"I know…and yer right." As far as they knew, Scrappy's whole word had turned itself inside out. There had been no reason to bring him out to where they were. He wouldn't have known what to do, what was expected of him and he would have freaked out. Someone else would have been hurt worse trying to protect him, and seeing that first hand with Fred carrying Scooby into the cabin that night had cemented it in Scrappy's mind. Having one's world blown to the far winds never was pleasant. It was the only reason he was so silent now. "Getting back to the matter at hand, how do we draw this thing out?"

Sibella grimaced a little and looked up at Shaggy. "Unfortunately….having a nightmare is the only way," she said, feeling sick all of a sudden. "It'll draw him out…because the spell the released him is a contract. He's supposed to eliminate the nightmares within the subject the spell was cast for. So if…Shaggy has a nightmare…"

"The thing will come a calling," Yabba concluded. "But then it's a matter of getting to him…because you know he's gonna be in that fella's dreams."

"I was afraid as much," Scooby muttered. "All right then…"

"Scooby?" Daphne asked. "You have a plan?"

"It's not a plan…it's something that must be done," Yabba said in place of his brother. "The magic sandmen use is not meant for others to know or use…except when it comes to other fae. We can't take care of it physically unless it's shoved out and defeated in its own realm, so we have to enlist the help of another fae."

Shaggy felt the room go cold as the realization sank into their bones. "Like…you're talking about Thomas Doo….and Fenrir, right?"

"We've called on them once before…the situation was unusual and Pop couldn't quite handle it alone. Me and Scoob here were just pups, but it's our understanding that if there's a magic that we can't snuff out, we need to call them. I suppose it's a good thing that they were coming anyhow…"

"Wait…they're **_coming_**?"

"Yeah. They should be here sometime **tonight**."

* * *

And...I'm not sure where it's going yet! XD But I'll figure it out soon. lol


End file.
